Editor:
I recently read your article on puppy mills and sub-standard breeders (Coast Reporter, Oct. 30).
I received a couple of calls asking about our kennel, so I thought I should provide your readers with the definition of a 'puppy mill' from the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association.
Puppy mill: A high volume, sub-standard dog breeding operation, which sells purebred or mixed breed dogs to unsuspecting buyers. Some of the characteristics common to puppy mills are: sub-standard health and/or environmental issues; sub-standard animal care, treatment, and/or socialization. These conditions may also exist in small volume or single-breed establishments.
I own Winsome Kennels, a breeding kennel in Roberts Creek. There is nothing sub-standard about anything we do at our kennel. Our kennel was assessed by a court-recognized expert who wrote that our kennel should be used as the industry standard for commercial kennels. He was noticeably impressed with the cleanliness of the facility and the large runs. Anyone who has actually visited our kennel will tell you how wonderful a facility we built.
The SPCA has visited our kennel on several occasions to inspect our 51 adult dogs. In six years and up until two days before the article, we had never been cited for any kind of infraction.
On Oct. 28, the SPCA visited and thoroughly inspected every dog and found a grand total of two dogs to have a single matt in one ear. Four of our older dogs had some tartar on their teeth. We had the tartar removed the same week. This is an impressive record no matter how you look at it.
If you would like to visit our facility, we will be glad to set up a tour and see can see it for yourself.
Jamie Sheppard
Roberts Creek
