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"Reputable Breeder" Bulldog Bust in Houston, Another Reason to Support Puppy Mill Awareness Day!

September 12, 2007, 7:39PM MT

By Kelli Ohrtman

SPCA makes an exception and delivers a happy ending

SPCA makes an exception and delivers a happy ending

By Kelli Ohrtman: Best Friends Network

Another reason to support Puppy Mill Awareness Day! The following recent account is of a rescue from a purportedly "good breeder". Puppy Mill Awareness Day helps raise awareness and money to expose commercial breeders for what they are!

To check out the Puppy Mill Awareness Day website click here
Puppy Mill Awareness Day is Sept 15th in Lancaster County, PA, but you can hold your own event, for details check out their website.

The Horrors of "Reputable Breeders" Exposed
On August 30th, authorities followed up on a complaint and went to Pickett’s Pride, an American Bulldog breeder’s property in north Houston, Texas. What they found was appalling even to the most seasoned humane investigators. More than 30 dogs were found dead, some still in their kennels, while the rest had been starved down to skeletons. The dogs were taken into protective custody by the Houston SPCA.

Julie Castle, Best Friends Director of Community Programs and Services said, “This situation represents the lowest form of business greed; it’s nothing more than exploiting and abusing animals for money and profit.” In the past year alone, dozens of situations similar to this have been discovered across the country. Julie added, “It's a tragedy. Anyone who cares about the well being of animals should spread the word to adopt and rescue, rather than supporting puppy mills and bad breeders by purchasing animals.”

The breeders, Ed Pickett and Kathy Drobina, could not be located at the time of the seizure, but Drobina arrived in court last week at a hearing to determine whether the SPCA would get permanent custody of the dogs. She was charged with animal cruelty and arrested after the civil hearing, and custody of the 10 cats and 47 dogs was awarded to the Houston SPCA.

SPCA Makes an Exception
The Houston SPCA has a policy not to adopt out American Bulldogs to the public, but in this very sad case, they made an exception. On Friday, September 14th, the surviving dogs will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, where they will finally find a safe haven with Las Vegas Wrinkle Rescue. Candy, the group’s co-director said, “I can’t say enough about the SPCA because they’ve gone over and above any of their laws and bylaws to get us these dogs.” Sadly, many of the dogs had multiple and life-threatening health problems and coupled with the severe emaciation, the decision was made to humanely euthanize some of the dogs at the shelter.

The dogs deemed healthy enough will make the long trip on Friday. Foster families eagerly await the dogs so deserving of a loving home. Candy said that in addition to regular vet care, “I have trainers that are going to help us keep up on evaluations, and will go to the foster homes once a week to check on them.”

She wants to make sure at every step of the way that the dogs are handled responsibly. As a long time lover of American Bulldogs, she added that the SPCA’s decision in this case was, “A good step for our breed.”

A website has been set up specifically to follow these dogs and their progress. Visit www.savehoustonsbulldogs.com to read more about the dogs, and to learn how you can help them.

What You Can Do
Las Vegas Wrinkle Rescue is a small, dedicated organization (run by just two people, plus foster homes). They are grateful for all the help they get from the community and from American Bulldog lovers everywhere. To learn how you can help too, visit their website: www.lvwrinklerescue.com

They can also use:
Leashes
Beds
Dog Food—Blue Buffalo or any high quality food (available at PetCo or PetSmart)
Gift cards or certificates for PetCo or PetSmart
Dog Toys

Photos provided by Las Vegas Wrinkle Rescue
Click here to watch video of the seizure from Fox 26 news.* (Warning, graphic footage).

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A footnote about Pickett’s Pride
Pickett’s Pride has been well-known to American Bulldog enthusiasts in the past, including in the dog show circuit. Some dogs bred there have earned champion titles. No one but the breeders themselves know how things got so bad. Below is a photo of one of the dogs in better days, and from August 30th, the day she was rescued by the Houston SPCA.

Comments

Posted September 12, 2007, 7:57PM by poochpower

Wow! That is absolutely horrible. Thank God they were finally rescued. It is sad to think of all the suffering these poor dogs went through.

Posted September 12, 2007, 8:39PM by scratchtopaz

This does represent the lowest form of human greed. It's amazing that a rescue group across the country came forward to help as many animals as possible. That says so much about the humane community as a whole. Thank you for letting us know the story.

Posted September 12, 2007, 9:10PM by kellio

This story really got to me--we hear all the time about puppy mills and commercial kennels, but I've yet to hear of breeders that at least appear to care about the breed to end up like this. These breeders obviously had two faces.

Has anyone heard of other breed "fanciers" who've been found out to be like this?

Posted September 12, 2007, 9:47PM by flbuldog

I'm always amazed at what some people in the breed consider acceptable ethics and treatment.Thankfully there are some wonderful breed enthusiasts out there that certainly do benefit the breed. In the last few years there have been a few other busts and stories that went national Kelli and sadly the agencies involved were criticized for their actions and for "butting in" by the breed community. With this case we can hope that the tide is changing by the reactions of the community in a positive way. There has been so much support. I hope in the near future we can have some programs in place that will prevent "mills" like this one from even existing with cooperation from the registries. I'm so glad even a small handful of the dogs in this case have a chance at a real life.

Posted June 10, 2009, 9:13PM by SJSU

Wow well its is now 06/2009 and I am just now reading this story. My dog is now 3 years old, I had bought my puppy form thses aweful people. I paid 700.00 dollars for my dog and now after hearing this story I would have paid any price to get him out of that aweful place. I cant believe I helped thses people and gave them my money but I did get an amazing dog that I am verrry glad to have.

Posted September 18, 2007, 11:53AM by LV_Wrinkle_Rescue

As the founder of LVWR I want to thank the Houston SPCA for entrusting us with the rehabilitation of these dogs.
We will continue to update the public on their progress at www.savehustonsbulldogs.com

Posted September 19, 2007, 1:31AM by zodnmic

Thanks for all the kind words.

We appreciate all the support that has been directed to these babies.

We would like to thank EVERYONE that has been a part of this process. It took a ton of people to make this possible, and we will not forget what this experience has taught us.

Where there is a will there is a way.

www.savehoustonsbulldogs.com

Posted September 30, 2007, 7:5PM by fayech

I have one of these pups. We got her yesterday afternoon from the bully rescue person in Tucson. He had some shipped to him from Vegas to help with placement. We live in Bisbee - a small mountain town on the Arizona/Mexico border.

She's the really cute frisky one on the Fox news report - I just watched the report online and saw her.

She seems to be bright, inquisitive and now healthy with no obvious signs of long term damage from the neglect. Obviously, it helped that she was taken when she was still young enough to recover.

She has a good home with us. Hope the rest of them are so lucky. She's a sweetie and is already a part of the family.

Posted September 13, 2007, 4:12PM by cattees

I'm always grateful for the exception to the rule. A big THANK YOU to the Houston SPCA and to Las Vegas Wrinkle Rescue (what a great name)!

Posted September 14, 2007, 11:20PM by marla

Please keep us updated on these babies.
Thanks