The dogs were found Saturday in a house at 531 N. Doris when law enforcement agents were serving a warrant in search of drugs, Wichita police Lt. Steve Kenney said.
Inside the house southwest of Central and West Street, officers found 20 dogs ranging from “several days old to fully grown adults,” Kenney said.
Officers found “numerous animals being kept in small cages, obviously for breeding purposes,” Kenney said.
“They were being fed and watered. It was a money-making proposition, which is illegal. You can’t run a puppy mill in the city limits.”
One of the dogs had a microchip and has since been returned to its owner. The other 19 dogs — seven grown adults, four young adults and eight puppies — were seized by the Police Department’s animal control unit.
They were scheduled to be transferred to the Kansas Humane Society on Friday.
With all of these puppies suddenly available, the Humane Society plans to hold a “Puppy Bowl” on Friday afternoon, said Mark Eby, the organization’s chief executive. The puppies will be allowed to frolic in an indoor “stadium” at 2 p.m. Friday at the Humane Society, 3313 N. Hillside.
The animals are in good health, Kenney said. The owner told investigators he was selling the mixed-breed pit bulls on Craigslist and other “media avenues,” he said.
The case remains under investigation and no arrests have been made, Kenney said. Investigators have been told another 20 to 40 puppies are at another site in Wichita, he said, but those pups have not yet been found.
At this point, he said, there is only one potential suspect in the case. The three-bedroom, beige house where the dogs were found sits on an unpaved stretch of Doris. A man standing in the driveway and talking on a cellphone refused to talk to a reporter on Thursday, saying “keep right on moving.”
Once the adult and young adult dogs have been cleared medically and spayed or neutered, they will be made available for adoption, Eby said. That could happen as soon as a day or two.
After the eight puppies are weaned, Kenney said, they will be placed with dog foster families until they are about 2 months old. At that point, they will be spayed or neutered and then made available for adoption.
“They’re all very friendly dogs,” Kenney said of the seized animals.
Tigers cubs are friendly until they grow up.
It has been several years now since a puppy mill was discovered in Wichita, he said.
“We suspect that there’s puppy mills occurring in Wichita,” Kenney said. “When we find them, it’s on an unrelated case just like this.”
Residents can legally own two dogs without a permit, he said.
“You cannot be a breeder of dogs in a residential area,” Kenney said. “You need to possess a breeder’s license if you want to become a breeder.”
(Argus Press - Feb 5, 2016)
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