Puppymill breeder gets busted in OHIO/WV

Monday, August 3, 2009

Washington County OH: ACTION ALERT! Puppy Breeding Update (Sharon Roberts, Whispering Oaks Kennel)
Mary O'Connor-Shaver wrote:Dear Companion Pet Lovers ~Many of you may recall last year's investigation of Sharon Roberts, a longtime owner of a Parkersburg, WV-area dog kennel (Whispering Oaks Kennel) who surrendered approximately 1,000 dogs to humane officials after authorities executed a search warrant on her property.During the search of Ms. Roberts property, authorities stated that the breeding dogs were never let out of their cages and rarely, if ever, touched by a human being. As shared by Deputy Robert Sims of the Wood County Sheriff's Office, "Some of them, you put them on the ground and they don't know what it is because they've lived their entire life on wire mesh." Deputy Sims went on to state that the buildings where the dogs were kept lacked air conditioning and that temperatures hovered in the mid-to upper 90s during the weekend of the search. "You simply can't describe the overwhelming smell of the ammonia, the feces," he said of the dog runs. "And these were kept decently clean. But still, the smell was just horrible."As a condition of her surrender, Ms Roberts agreed never to operate a dog-breeding business again!Sadly, it was confirmed that past Friday that officers from the Washington County Sheriff's Office raided Sharon's homeagain and not only found more than 70 puppies of different breeds (included one dead puppy which a veterinarian's preliminary report confirmed had parvo, ringworm and suffered from malnutrition), but $200,000 in cash that had been stashed away! For more details on the recent investigation, click here.Now for even more disheartening news...Last month, Washington County Auditor, Dan McFarland, confirmed that on June 26, 2009, after receipt of an application, his office issued a kennel license to Ms. Roberts at 700 Tick Ridge Road, Vincent, Ohio, 45784. When information concerning last year's investigation was presented to Mr. McFarland, his response was, "perhaps at this point the best place to express your concern would be to the appropriate enforcement authority. While not sure what party that would be, in our County we have a Dog Warden, Sheriff and Prosecuting Attorney."If you would like to share your concerns regarding this puppy mill breeder who was permitted to re-establish her operations in Ohio, I encourage you to contact:James SchneiderProsecuting Attorney for Washington CountyE-mail: Prosecutor@washingtongov.orgTelephone: (740) 373-7624Fax: (740) 373-8748Pager: (740) 376-7993Website: click hereThanks everyone for continuing to serve as a strong voice for the animals!Mary O'Connor-ShaverCell: 614-271-8248Columbus Top Dogshttp://www.columbustopdogs.com/http://www.banohiodogauctions.com/http://tejasanimalrefuge.ca/http://www.lostpetusa.net/
Posted by Liz Marshall at 2:02 PM