An already-crowded Animal Rescue League of Iowa is even shorter on space now after teams were dispatched to Boone County where nearly a hundred dogs had to be removed from what’s described as a puppy mill.
The ARL’s KC Routos says conditions at the property in Ogden were exceptionally poor and the smell was overpowering even before the buildings were entered. “There was excrement from the animals in their spaces and there were quite a few pregnant moms with their puppies as well,” Routos says. “Some of the dogs had matting and were incredibly thin as well, and some of the puppies were just days old, still nursing on their mothers.”
The ARL has been fighting capacity all summer long as there have been dogs coming in practically daily, so handling this large of a case is putting the Des Moines facility in a bind.
[“We didn’t have our normal kennel space for taking in nearly 100 dogs,” Routos says. “We ended up having to put up temporary kennels in some of our rooms that are not necessarily meant for dogs to be housed in them, but we will do whatever we have to do to make sure that these dogs get to a safe spot.”
There’s no word on any charges being filed in the case. She says this puppy mill was focused mostly on one breed. “They were primarily producing doodles of some sort,” Routos says, “so I think most of them were golden doodles and there might have been a couple retrievers in there as well.”
Iowans who might be interested in adopting dogs from this rescue should check the ARL’s website, which is refreshed every 15 minutes as more animals become available.
“They’re all going to have their own care plan, just depending on what their needs are behaviorally and medically,” Routos says. “Some may be available for adoption sooner than the others. Some of the puppies are still nursing so they’ll need to be with their mothers for a few more weeks at least and go through their whole process.”
The ARL also has more than 70 other dogs available for immediate adoption.