More than 400 dogs seized from kennel in Quebec

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More than 400 dogs seized from kennel in Quebec
Owners were previously investigated over conditions
By Meghan Hurley, The Ottawa Citizen September 16, 2011 11:04 PM The owners of a dog-breeding kennel near Shawville say more than 400 dogs were taken away Friday after investigators showed up armed with a warrant.

ANIMA-Quebec employees arrived Friday morning to inspect the kennel in Clarendon Township, about 90 minutes northwest of Ottawa, said owner Charlene Labombard.

They left, but came back to the Paws “R” Us kennel around 4:30 p.m. with a warrant to seize all the dogs.

“I’m losing my livelihood and I’m very upset,” Labombard said, trying to hold back tears. “It just breaks my heart.”

The Labombards said the inspectors told them they were seizing the dogs because of cobwebs on the ceiling, because the floors weren’t tiled and the kennel didn’t have proper ventilation.

By around 6 p.m., two transport trucks arrived on the Labombard property to take the dogs away.

The Labombard family started breeding dogs on its former pig farm in Clarendon Township when the pork market collapsed almost 20 years ago.

Puppies at the kennel are kept in open pens in a barn and an addition to the farmhouse.

Larger dogs are housed in a larger barn in pens lined with plastic material.

Daughter Nicole Labombard, who helps run the kennel, said they play country music for the puppies because it keeps them calm.

The kennel does not screen the dogs for genetic disease, as some breeders do, but the buildings are cleaned and disinfected daily, Labombard said. The kennel breeds about 30 types of dogs in its barns.

Nicole Labombard said the kennel added an outdoor, wood-burning furnace several years ago to provide hot water heating for all of its buildings.

She said the kennel provides safe walls for the dog pens and comfortable, perforated floors to drain urine and feces.

The Canadian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Montreal said in 2006 that investigators had visited the kennel four or five times in two years after receiving complaints about the condition of dogs.

The SPCA did not lay any charges, but asked for changes to be made. Each visit showed a slight improvement in conditions, the SPCA said in 2006.

The SPCA was legally responsible for regulating kennels until Quebec’s Animal Welfare Act changed to give that power to ANIMA-Quebec, an agency established by dog breeders and the Ministry of Agriculture.

The kennel made headlines in 2006 when they sued Lorie Gordon, a Brockville dog owner, for libel because of comments she made about the business on an Internet bulletin board.

Gordon bought a Labrador retriever from Paws “R” Us and had it euthanized two years later after it developed a heart murmur and painful hip dysplasia.

The kennel gave her a golden retriever as a free replacement.

It scratched itself until it bled because of itchy mange and was now being treated for epilepsy.

Gordon was ordered to pay $14,000 after a judge found she had libelled the commercial dog breeder online.

mhurley@ottawacitizen.comtwitter.com/meghan_hurley

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