[News] Minnesota Puppy Breeder On Trial To Face Abuse Charges
 

Puppy Breeder On Trial To Face Abuse Charges

Puppy Breeder On Trial To Face Abuse Charges - wcco.com
video available online - it's graphic; 2 things in the videos not in the print story - she sold pups to Petland & even if she's convicted, she will be able to sell pets online, as there are no laws to prevent it :mad:

Mar 18, 2009 6:10 pm US/Central

Reporting
James Schugel
FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (WCCO) ―

An animal abuse trial started on Wednesday -- a case where prosecutors say a Minnesota dog breeder tortured the pets she raised and sold.

The I-TEAM first uncovered disturbing video last fall. Investigators say it shows Kathy Bauck dipping a puppy in insecticide, but the allegations of abuse don't stop there.

The trial started at 9 a.m. in Fergus Falls where jurors first saw that undercover video.

Animal rights advocates, and even Bauck's own neighbors, sat in the courtroom stunned when they saw the undercover video of the animals.

Bauck runs a place called "Pick of the Litter" in rural New York Mills, Minn. and sells dogs on the Internet.

The Otter Tail County prosecutor contends that the animals were tortured and neglected at Bauck's breeding facility. The video shows dogs that allegedly sat in their own feces, others with sores or open wounds.

One of the animal rights advocates in the courtroom put her head down so she wouldn't have to watch. But jurors had to watch and listen to the testimony of the man who took the video in April and May 2008.

The 30-year-old man at one time worked for Bauck and he took the video with a camera hidden in a shirt button. He testified that an animal rights group paid him to take the job at "Pick of the Litter" and to take the video. That video led to a police investigation and six criminal charges against Bauck.

Upon entering the courthouse, Bauck wouldn't make any comments about the charges against her.

During the trial, her lawyer painted her as a kind, loving woman who had a personal relationship with each dog that she bred. Her lawyer said Bauck has been in the breeding business for more than 20 years and her facility is federally licensed.

Bauck said she feels "set up" by the animal rights group who hired the man to take the video. Bauck feels they are trying to put her out of business.

Bauck is expected to testify in the trial that could take a few weeks.

I was going to watch the video and had to quit because I started crying My love of the Yorkie runs deep. I hope they rescue these poor pups and burn this woman so hard. I can't think of a punishment bad enough for her. :mad:

This is so crazy and truly heartbreaking...some people have no compassionate...

We need each state to pass a law that you can only have one or two breeding females, and not be allowed to have over three dogs that aren't spayed or neutered. These millers will never stop unless the law stops them.

:thumbup:

It seems that the word "Animal Abuse" dosen't mean the samething
to the law and to people with a heart.

the entire thing is so upsetting - but there is something really wrong with our culture that even if she's convicted, she will be able to sell pets online, as there are no laws to prevent it!!

That means that every puppy miller we see get in trouble with the law may be stopped from selling animals locally, nothing stops them from doing business online :confused::thumbdown:mad:

One step forward and two steps back. I had seen this video before when it came to light. A starving dog cowering in the back of the cage and she's as big as a beached whale. Obviously she ate well. I've seen this over and over with mill people, the dogs are suffering all the way around and the millers sure are well fed. Oh and how ironic she said she felt set up? What about the people that did indeed by the puppies from pet stores and all the medical costs they endure trying to keep their puppy alive? I do hope she is punished for her deeds. Abuse and torture of any animal is WRONG!!!! Makes you wonder about the mental stability of these people. I apologize to you all for my venting but it makes me sick.:animal-pa

Accused Puppy Mill Operator Takes Stand In Trial
 

Accused Puppy Mill Operator Takes Stand In Trial

Accused Puppy Mill Operator Takes Stand In Trial - wcco.com

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (WCCO) ―

A woman who now faces six criminal charges for allegedly abusing and neglecting animals took the stand in her own defense late Friday afternoon.

Kathy Bauck owns Pick Of The Litter breeding facility in New York Mills, Minn., northwest of the Twin Cities. She's on trial in the Otter Tail County Courthouse in Fergus Falls.

Friday was the third day of testimony, and at about 3:30 p.m., she took the stand.

She told jurors that she cares deeply for her animals. She told them that she insists all her employees treat her animals kindly. She talked about getting her dog breeders' license from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1984 and still having it today.

Bauck also said that her dogs are happy, cleaned and groomed, and that they have plenty of food.

But a licensed veterinarian with 20 years of experience told jurors that's not the case.

Dr. Melinda Merck testified that six dogs were in discomfort and pain and others were emaciated at the facility and needed emergency treatment. After watching the undercover video and pictures that one of Bauck's own employees took, Merck concluded that some dogs were subjected to unjustifiable pain and suffering.

Video showed animals that didn't have enough strength to stand. Others were sitting in their own feces. Some were also underweight. Others were dunked in insecticide.

Bauck has maintained her innocence to WCCO's I-TEAM, saying she never neglected or abused hundreds of dogs at her facility.

In court Friday morning, her lawyer discredited Merck's testimony.

When asked, based on the video if Bauck caused that suffering, the doctor conceded that there's no way to be certain she did. The doctor also said that there's no way to know what caused some dogs to seizure, not even any kind of alleged abuse.

Detective Keith VanDyke with the Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office told jurors that some dogs were disposed of with a so-called "kill box." That's something animals are loaded into and then deadly gas is forced inside.

Bauck's lawyer asked VanDyke why he didn't take any dogs from the facility when he went on the property with a Humane Society investigator. His answer: none needed veterinary care.

Bauck was the last person to testify, right after VanDyke. Bauck testified for about an hour late Friday. She told the jury she's established several protocols on how to treat her animals, how to breed them and what kind of medical care to give them from a veterinarian.

She also talked about death threats and threats she'll be beaten up. These threats, she said, have come from people in person while she walks down the street, on e-mail and on the phone.

She will continue testifying at her trial on Monday morning.

It just blows me away how she can say that their all loved ,groomed and taken care of. You tell me how a video tape of the premises and the poor dogs themselves don't scream the truth. That woman is guilty.:mad::animal-pa

My heart is breaking for poor Ms. Bauck being set up like that and being forced to dip her puppies into that giant vat of insecticide. :rolleyes: Now she cannot walk down the street without felling threatened. :rolleyes: Poor woman after 20 years of being a GIANT PUPPYMILL making money off the backs of all of those dogs and when they were of any more use to stuff then into a KILL BOX. :mad: Now it is all coming to an giant screeching halt because of people like all of us becoming aware of what really goes on at these horrific places. :mad: I hope that people like Oprah rock her world! :thumbup: There is always someone with more money, more power and more exposure and that is Oprah! All of these horrible breeders and horrible mills better take note because once she has her sits sites on something she does it right! :D

I have just received it about Minnesota puppy mill, not sure if it same one

Team 5 Investigates Why Nothing Being Done To Protect Consumers:
Sick Puppies Dog Some Online Purchasers - Team 5 Investigates News Story - WCVB Boston

Puppy Mill Owner Faces Charges: 800 dogs in Minnesota Puppy Mill:
Video

Team 5: Online Puppy Sales:
Video

Puppy Slide Show:
Photos: Sick Puppies Dog Some Online Purchasers - Photos - WCVB Boston

Action was taken in the Minnesota House on HF0253.
Subject: Dog and cat breeder standards of care provided, and money appropriated.
To view the status of HF0253 go here
http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/r...3&ssn=0&y=2009

OH MY GOSH!!!!! I COULDNT BELIEVE THAT ZUT:mad: THAT IS SOOOO! HEARTBREAKING!!! AAGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Owner Returns To Witness Stand In Puppy Mill Trial
 

Owner Returns To Witness Stand In Puppy Mill Trial

Owner Returns To Witness Stand In Puppy Mill Trial - wcco.com

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (WCCO) ―

The woman who owns a dog breeding facility in New York Mills, Minn. took the stand once again on Monday morning, denying she ever hurt her animals.

Kathy Bauck is charged with six counts of cruelty and neglect. She breeds dogs at her facility, Pick of the Litter, and she also sells dogs on the Internet.

She continued testifying in the Otter Tail County Courthouse in Fergus Falls, Minn. on Monday morning. Bauck put blame on the man who she hired and took undercover video of her operation; his name is Jason Smith.

The group CAPS, or Companion Animal Protection Society, hired Smith to take a job with Bauck, record the video and send it to them.

The video shows dogs emaciated or too thin, along with some that were dehydrated and weak. The video has angered animal rights activists and made others cry, but Bauck said it doesn't tell the whole story of what's been going on at her kennel.

She said the problems started when Smith started working for her in April 2008. He was an employee from April to May in 2008.

"I had never seen dog fights in the 25 years I've raised dogs, than the time that man was at my kennel. I reprimanded him several times, because so many things were happening under his watch," she testified in court.

As seen on the video, the eye of one dog was bulging out, and the skin of others missing. Bauck claimed Smith purposely grouped males together with one female, so they'd attack each other. She also claimed he broke the system that supplies water to dogs.

Bauck remained defiant during cross-examination, even looking angry at times. The Assistant Otter Tail County Attorney drilled Bauck about her log book which shows medical records of the dogs. She claimed Smith stole that book.

The prosecutor pressured the issue of inaccurate record-keeping. She also painted Bauck as a woman who was not in control of her facility, its employees and how her dogs were being handled and treated.

The undercover video shows a dog dipped in insecticide licking its lips. Animal rights group claim it's a "very dangerous" and "cruel act" that can even be deadly if swallowed.

Bauck explained for the first time that she dunked her dogs in insecticide to protect them from flees, mites and other small pets. When asked about dunking them completely in the solution of water and insecticide, she denied the heads of the animals ever got wet.

The fourth full day of testimony is now over and the jury might get the animal cruelty and neglect case sometime before noon on Tuesday. They'll decide what punishment, if any, Kathy Bauck will receive.

:thumbup::thumbup:

I agree then there would but no way to make money off these poor babies.

UPDATE -

" The verdict came in today on Kathy Bauck, owner of Pick of the Litter Kennel, or I should say previous owner because she transferred ownership to her husband and daughter and is listed only as an employee now. She was acquitted on the two most serious charges, two felony animal abuse charges but she was convicted of the four misdemeanor charges, one animal cruelty and three counts of torture."

Go to this link for a full story.
The Verdict on Kathy Bauck - MN Puppy Miller | For the Love of the Dog

Mixed Verdict For Breeder Accused Of Animal Abuse - wcco.com