Horrific animal cruelty complaints involving high volume puppy producers called “puppy mills” along with fraudulent rescue organizations and animal hoarders have grown throughout Oklahoma. Dogs left in cages for years, living in filth, sometimes even eating other dogs that had died, alarm Oklahomans across our state.  A lack of regulations that exists in every other high volume puppy producing state has made Oklahoma into a haven for cruelty, fraud and crime; the problem ballooned before our eyes.

From strong humane standards in Colorado that ensure dogs have cages that are double the length of the dog, to the most basic standards that simply prevent cruelty in Kansas and Missouri, all high volume puppy producing states except Oklahoma have animal welfare standards covering those who transfer, breed and sell large numbers of dogs.  

Responding to the crises resulting from a lack of regulations, the Pet Quality Assurance Act was introduced in the 2008 Oklahoma legislative session.  The PQA, as it was called, would have ensured minimum living standards for Oklahoma dogs in high volume breeding kennels, rescue organizations and more. The bill failed, and everyone who cares about dogs, consumer protection and the image of Oklahoma should be poised to make sure it does not happen again this year.

Referred to by the USDA as ‘dog dealers,’ the federal government licenses pet breeders that produce puppies and kittens to sell through brokers and auctions. Essentially, if a breeder sells puppies through a wholesale market, they must have a federal license. If the puppies are sold directly to the buyer, either over the internet, through newspapers or on street corners or flea markets, no federal license is required. It is up to each state to create licensing standards for those who do not fall under the federal regulations, but who have commerce in the commercial pet trade. Oklahoma has created none. 

As other states have passed regulations, substandard dog dealers have flocked here from elsewhere. Large facilities that have USDA licenses are left to compete with an unregulated silent industry with no standards, and the situation spirals downward.

While the number of USDA licensed facilities in Oklahoma has more than doubled since 2000 (to over 600), the number of unlicensed, clandestine producers is thought to be far higher. Calls and complaints to state agencies, newspapers and humane organizations reveal an alarming picture for dogs in many of these hidden places.

This is not about the home that has a dog or two, with puppies arriving once a year. It is not about the dog show enthusiast whose pampered pet has a litter before retiring.  

This issue concerns facilities with sometimes over 500 breeding female dogs that spend their lives in small cages producing and nursing puppies every time they are able. This is about dogs that will never be allowed inside a home, get veterinary care, exercise or be thought of as a pet; it is about “producing dogs.” Some are debarked by an owner shoving an iron pipe into the dog’s throat to silence its barks of anguish; others are debarked by a veterinarian. It is about puppies from undernourished mother animals, many of which will be sick or die before the heartbroken buyer realizes their mistake. This is about female dogs that will be sold at auction when they fail to produce profitably any more, when many have lost their teeth, fur and even eyes by the ripe old age of six. Unlicensed dog dealing is a filthy secret in Oklahoma.  

Unlicensed dealers in Oklahoma have been found with animals in tiny wire floored cages; urine and feces spilling from one dog to the one below. An overwhelming stench of urine pervades the dogs, their coats are matted with feces and the ammonia from urine leaves many blind from scalded eyes. 

The lack of regulations invites criminals to come here. When pit bull breeder Jerry Southern was convicted of animal cruelty in Kansas he was banned from owning pit bulls in that state. He then moved his pit bull breeding operation to Newkirk, Oklahoma. His starved, freezing and injured pit bulls languished on chains and in pet carriers with up to six inches of feces in which they were forced to sleep. Southern was arrested on December 2, 2008 in Kay County and faces 70 counts of animal cruelty. Some of the emaciated dogs died as deputies arrived to save them. Tulsa based Oklahoma Alliance for Animals received custody of the dogs. The case will cost tens of thousands of dollars to the Oklahoma justice system.   

This is also about tax evasion by substandard breeders selling puppies for unreported cash. A high volume kennel with 50 producing dogs is considered a small breeder. If 50 dogs produce 5 to 10 puppies per year, with each selling for the modest sum of $350, the dealer would net around $140,000 in sales.  From one end of the state to the other, puppy producers opposed to regulations actually said that puppy sales offer them an undeclared income as they collect disability and other social service benefits. 

These people make big money. Last year, clandestine north Tulsa puppy producer Jerry Hines was revealed to have over 60 dogs stacked in cages in a boarded-up mobile home on Admiral Street. Despite classified advertisements showing that Hines charged $500 dollars per puppy, he was not fined for having a breeding operation instead of a small hunting dog kennel, as his Tulsa hobbyist permit claimed. Hines was allowed to keep his Tulsa operation open and was assessed no back fines.  

This issue affects every city in our state. Of the puppy dealers who received citations from the Tulsa Police Department for selling pups on the streets of Tulsa without a vendor’s permit, two thirds of those offenders were not from Tulsa. 

The State of Oklahoma is estimated to be losing the tax revenue on at least a forty-million-dollar-a-year industry. 

The Pet Quality Assurance Act that was introduced in the Oklahoma house last year called for all dogs in these facilities to have at least the standards mandated for dogs living in USDA licensed breeding kennels. For those unfamiliar with those standards, each dog is entitled to its length plus six inches by the same width for cage size. Six inches of headroom are mandated as well. This means that a breeding beagle is entitled to around 32” X 32” of space…for life. The regulations also call for honest record keeping, food and water at least daily, and basic sanitation.  

These regulations were too strict for some people, including breeders who oppose any regulations at all. In fact, AKC employee, Stacy Mason of Stillwater showed up at the committee hearing on this bill with a pin saying, “Kill the Bill.” Mason had sent out e-mail alerts from her AKC e-mail address opposing the bill and the Oklahoma Pet Professionals likened the meager regulations which would affect only dogs in the most tragic of circumstances to a loss of gun rights.  As a 2007 interim study by the Oklahoma legislature came to a close, Mason took a well-timed moment to say that the USDA requirements as listed in the proposition were not the same as listed on the USDA website, apparently deliberately confusing legislators about what our bill demanded. There was no time to counter her claim. 

The Pet Quality Assurance Act creates minimal standards for any breeder or rescue organization handling over 25 puppies or kittens a year. Let your representative know that any breeder or rescue that is unable to meet these standards should not handle dogs.