Wisconsin: Puppy mill breeder Stuart West arrested after dead, starving dogs found

WISCONSIN -- Formal charges were expected to be filed this week against a man accused of running a puppy mill on his western Wisconsin property, where live and dead dogs were hauled away by the dozen.

Members of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Animal Humane Society seized 48 dogs Friday, April 22, after executing a search warrant at the facility at N4758 350th Street.

According to initial sheriff’s reports, the warrant was served at the Elmwood address for Stuart E. West. The 68-year-old was booked into Pierce County Jail Friday on suspicion of mistreating animals, not providing proper food for confined animals and having improper indoor animal shelter.

He had yet to be formally charged Monday evening in Pierce County Circuit Court.

According to an ASPCA news release, the dogs were all yellow labradors and comprised 35 adults and 13 puppies. The dogs were Living indoors in small, filthy travel crates with no access to food or water,” according to the ASPCA.

West was running Alma Bottom Pointing Labs business out of his home. The incident raised numerous questions among county and town officials about the inspection process and how the alleged puppy mill was allowed to operate unabated. That included discussion by the El Paso Town Board, which revised its kennel ordinance as a result of West's case.

Pierce County Sheriff Nancy Hove said more than 10 adult dogs were found dead in a barn on the property, with more allegedly buried in the back yard.

“It was disgusting,” she said. “I don’t know how else to put it.”

The ASPCA identified the operation as a puppy mill -- “a large-scale breeding operation designed to generate profits at the cost of the animals’ health and well-being,” according to the release.

Hove said authorities became aware of the alleged operation after a person went there to buy a dog and was floored by the conditions at the facility.

Sheriff’s officials, along with members of the state agriculture department, went to West’s home to gather information March 28, according to reports. Hove said officers documented the living conditions after West let them in.

Among things witnessed was a kennel containing three large dogs.

“That kind of caught our attention,” she said, noting the department contacted the ASPCA afterward and began drawing up a search warrant request.

Friday’s all-day search of the property led to the transport of the surviving dogs to AHS facilities in Golden Val ley, Minn., where they received veterinary treatment. The remains of the dead dogs were sent out of state for autopsies, Hove said.

“What we saw here is no way for a dog to live,” said ASPCA Field Investigations and Response Director Kathryn Destreza. “The puppies at breeding facilities are sold for profit, but many people don't’ realize that their parents are often kept there for years, subjected to incessant breeding and usually lacking basic care and socialization, resulting in a very poor quality of life.”

The incident represented the second time in less than a year that the ASPCA was deployed to western Wisconsin; the organization assisted St. Croix and Polk county authorities last year in uncovering suspected cockfighting operations.

Hove said the organization came with its own equipment and veterinarians who checked over the dogs on the scene.

“They were wonderful to work with,” she said.

(WCTRIB - April 26, 2016)