At 2 p.m. on June 6, there will be a public hearing at 10 Hotel Street in Warrenton Virginia. to consider Irina Barrett's new special permit application for her kennel.
I write about this back in February, when the story first "broke". It took this long because applications were submitted and then removed at the 11th hour when it looked like they would not be passed. Things like that. My understanding is that Ms. Barrett has continued to operate.
Regardless of peoples' feelings on her breeding practices (and not everybody agrees that there is a problem), the focus for this hearing, according to the above linked article, will be on the land use practices. When it comes down to it, she has too many dogs on that property.
Ms. Barrett has also brought a defamation suit against the humane inspector to the tune of $1.3 million. I've heard on the Internet that she's looked up nearly everybody that has mentioned her and included them in a suit as well, but that sounds a bit over the top.
The AKC (famed for their recent letter on how they're doing the best they can) did send an inspector to Ms. Barret's property in April. They sent a letter to the county's Sheriff, which was quoted in the above linked article, and I'm going to quote below:
An American Kennel Club field agent on April 17 found “very poor sanitary and/or health conditions” at Canis Maximus.
AKC’s director of compliance support shared the report and a summary in an April 22 letter to Sheriff Charlie Ray Fox Jr., whose department includes animal control officers.
The field agent reported “that water containers for dogs were empty. There was a protruding wire in the chain link kennels which needed to be repaired. The is a metal futon frame and debris in the kennels. The breeder needs ventilation in both the kennel building and puppy room as there was a slight urine odor in both places.”
Jack Norton closed his letter to Sheriff Fox with: “We trust that your agency will look in to conditions at this kennel.”
Even with pending hearings, neighbors who are unhappy with the amount of dogs, and public scrutiny, Ms. Barrett apparently has not improved conditions for the dogs on her property. The AKC field agent found remarkably similar issues to what the humane inspector found in the first place, kicking all this off.
I feel very bad for the dogs who live there.
I don't know what to say. This is so clearly wrong to me, I can't believe there has to be hearings and discussion. I'm sad, but I hope these poor dogs are taken from her. She is not a responsible owner, let alone a responsible breeder. Another good post that brings awareness to these issues.
ReplyDeleteI just don't understand why people can't comprehend the atrocities that come with puppy mills and why there aren't stronger laws in place to protect the voiceless.
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