| Canadian puppy mill bust reveals filthy conditions | ||
 This is a Maltese, one of around 100 dogs rescued from a Quebec puppy mill filled with knee deep piles of excrement. The dogs are now in the care of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
"They've never had a bath," Dr. Ronald Beaulieu, a veterinarian for SPCA who inspected some of the dogs said. "Probably we can save all of them."
The dogs were living and breeding in a bungalow in Blainville, just north of Montreal. The SPCA said they knew of the breeder and even gave out some recommendations during inspections from 2000 to 2002. But they said there were only 15 dogs in the house at that time. "From the look of things, he absolutely lost control of the situation, it became a free-for-all," SPCA Director Pierre Barnoti told CTV News. Barnoti said there were about 100 dogs running or crawling in urine and excrement when officials made the rescue. "There were dead corpses walking. Dogs feeding on dogs, live," Barnoti said. The SPCA said this type of abuse is common across Quebec, where regulations are less strict for abusive breeders than in other province. Breeders don't even need a license to operate. "Everyone can be a breeder. You cannot be a mechanic without registering to be a mechanic but you can be a breeder in Quebec," Barnoti said. "There's nothing you have to have." Quebec has only 10 animal inspectors compared to the 200 inspectors and heftier fines that Ontario boasts. The breeder is facing criminal charges of animal cruelty but even if he's convicted there is nothing to stop him from getting back into the business again. Authorities hope to get the breeder to relinquish ownership of the dogs so they can be adopted quickly, instead of having to wait for a drawn out court decision.
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