TOCCOA — More than three dozen dogs seized from a puppy mill in Stephens County last week will be up for adoption in the Atlanta area this weekend.
The facility, Dogwood Kennels, was raided on August 21, according to Jeff Roberts, the executive director of the Toccoa-Stephens County Humane Shelter.
"The kennel areas were not being kept up properly as far as cleaning out the waste material," said Roberts. "They [animal control officials] found inadequate water supplies - some of the water was actually green - and there were issues with proper food, also. Many of the animals were severely matted and some had some health issues."
The operator of the facility, who was a licensed breeder of Boykin Spaniels, relinquished his license after the raid, according to the State Department of Agriculture. The owner was allowed to keep two of the 40 dogs taken from the site per county ordinance, according to Roberts.
In an email statement, the Ag Department acknowledged one of its inspectors had visited the facility more than once this year.
"Our inspector had been writing violations on this facility (Dogwood kennels) since March. She would write the violations, they would correct the violations. Then the inspector would go back in a month or so and the facility and animals would be in the same shape," the statement read.
Roberts said the Atlanta Humane Society was among the agencies that assisted with the seizure of the animals. He called on them because he knew TSCHS would not have the room to care for all of the dogs.
"Our facility stays completely full and being in a small, rural community, we don't really have the ability to deal with a large number of animals coming in. So, I reached out to Atlanta Humane Society...they've got vehicles and personnel that can assist in these kind of situations," said Roberts.
He said in addition to the State Department of Agriculture, the TSCHS and AHS, Stephens County Animal Control, the Stephens County Marshal and the Stephens County Sheriff's Office were part of the operation to rescue the dogs.
The dogs that have been cleared medically will be available for adoption on Saturday, August 29 at the AHS Howell Mill Road Campus in Atlanta and on Sunday, August 30 at the Mansell Road Campus in Alpharetta.
