Stock photo of a dog in a wire enclosure. (Photo via Canva)
State regulators are recommending that an Iowa breeder downsize her operation in the wake of several of her dogs dying due to the cold.
In December, a federal inspector from the U.S. Department of Agriculture visited a dog-breeding kennel , located in the Van Buren County town of Cantril. The business operates on property owned by Steve Kruse, one of Iowa’s larger dog breeders, but it is operating under a license held by Wuanita Swedlund.
The federal inspector reported that in November, a French bulldog named Bethany gave birth to four puppies, three of which were found dead within days. Swedlund allegedly indicated “the puppies must have gotten too cold and passed away,” the inspector reported.
Three other puppies, born to a rottweiler, were also found dead at the kennel, with Swedlund allegedly telling inspectors “they must have gotten too cold and died.”
In addition, a puppy born to Megan, a sheepdog, had to be euthanized after a dog in a nearby enclosure chewed through the wall into the puppy’s enclosure and tore the flesh from one leg, leaving the bone exposed. A short time later, a sheepdog puppy from the same litter was determined to be missing. “The licensee states they did find a single bone and assumed Megan ate her puppy,” the inspector reported.