Lewis County officials are still hammering out a new ordinance that aims to clamp down on potential puppy mills by instituting regulations more stringent than those in a state law that went into effect Jan. 1.
Local dog breeders, though, fear the ordinance will effectively harm legitimate businesses that have established clean track records and sterling reputations.
At issue is a potential kennel license that breeders say the county wants to impose across the board. The Lewis County Prosecutor's Office is currently drafting the ordinance with the input of the county's sheriff's office, animal shelter, code enforcement, animal control and health department.
Upwards of 25 breeders gathered at a Chehalis restaurant last week to organize and discuss the potential impact of the ordinance. Early negotiations focused on the possibility of limiting the number of dogs allowed to 50 per parcel of property rather than 50 per person as state law allows.
It's the cost and enforcement of potential kennel fees and the possible demand that each breeder submit an operation plan that concerns Wayne Kiser.
"They're missing the whole point," said Kiser, owner of the Dream Catcher Ranch off of Burnt Ridge Road outside Onalaska. "Puppy mills don't advertise. Puppy mills don't conform. Puppy mills are in hiding."
Kiser raises and sells Great Danes on his 10-acre ranch. He estimates there are currently 30 dogs living on his property, including three litters of puppies.
He said some breeders are reluctant to publicize locally or talk to media because of frequent misunderstandings and undue comparisons to illegal puppy mills. The ranch appears to be a far cry from the properties of two Lewis County women arrested on charges related to operating puppy mills over the past three years.
When county officials swarmed the Toledo-area property of Theresa Hahn on Oct. 7, they found nearly two dozen sick or malnourished Pomeranian dogs living in what investigators have described as small cages and complete squalor.
Two years earlier, county officials responded to another alleged Toledo-area puppy mill owned by Theresa Hutton. She was accused of animal cruelty after an outbreak of a contagious and deadly canine brucellosis at her puppy mill led to the euthanasia of 41 dogs and two horses. She allegedly had more than 200 dogs on her property.
At the Dream Catcher Ranch, Great Danes are fenced off in two dozen or more runs with enough space for the dogs to exercise. There are separate 4 foot by 16 foot insulated houses for each breeding pair, and three heated rooms for puppies and their mothers.
The dogs have names like Aphrodite, Lily, Torterra, Misty, Axle, Peaches and Orion, and can grow to weigh more than 200 pounds. That means Kiser has to buy plenty of food - including 2,000 pounds of chicken every month, he said.
"The (county) has the misconception that numbers make puppy mills," Kiser said. "It's not true. It's how you treat them and how you care for them."
Kiser said his dogs, like those of other breeders and dog enthusiasts across the county, are de-wormed, micro-chipped and given their first round of shots. A licensed veterinarian treats each of the 30 to 40 litters of puppies born at the ranch each year, Kiser said. All of them receive vaccines for canine brucellosis, he said.
He doesn't sell to pet stores - a method frequently used by puppy mills - and provides advice and assistance to buyers for years after they buy a dog for him for prices that range between $700 and $1,000.
"I try very hard to treat people the way I want to be treated and it comes back to you two-fold," Kiser said.
Lewis County Commissioner Lee Grose and other county officials have said the intent of the ordinance is to net the types of puppy mills operated by the likes of Hahn and Hutton.
The county has been proactive in meeting with legitimate breeders, he said, and a public review process will supplement the early input before the ordinance comes to a vote by the Lewis County Commission.
"If they are adamantly opposed to it, I would have some issues supporting it," Grose said.
The main goal of the ordinance will be to fall in line with state law that prohibits an individual from having more than 50 non-neutered dogs older than six months, Grose said. The law also sets rules for kennel size, exercise, sanitary conditions and veterinary care. The law dictates that breeders must provide clean food and water, allow dogs to leave their cages for at least an hour a day and provide clean housing. Those who violate the law can be charged with a gross misdemeanor.
Kiser's property, like others, already complies with the law. He said levying a fee on law-abiding business owners would be a bad message to send.
Grose said that county commissioners will have an open ear to citizen concerns. The ordinance is not yet scheduled for a vote, but Grose said it could come within the next few weeks.
"Nothing will be passed without their input," Grose said.
— Eric Schwartz: (360) 807-8245
