Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has sued a commercial dog breeder in McDonald County alleging that inhumane conditions led to the deaths of seven dogs, according to a press release.
“The vast majority of Missouri’s breeders comply with the Animal Care Facilities Act and obtain the proper licensure,” Schmitt said in a statement online. “For the breeders who don’t comply with the law and operate substandard or non-compliant facilities, my Office is ready, willing, and able to take action to shut those breeders down.”
Schmitt was successful in rescuing the surviving pets with a temporary restraining order. The lawsuit names Andre Damrill of Magic Puppies as a defendant.
“Good...if it is true that the dogs are in awful conditions,” said Alice Dodge, founder of Pet Rescue Services in Lonedell. “If Magic Puppies is a puppy mill, we want to put puppy mill people out of business.”
Dodge wasn’t surprised to hear that Schmitt took legal action to rescue the animals who were allegedly in distress.
“Eric Schmidt worked at the law firm that defended me before he was attorney general,” Dodge told the St. Louis Record. “He represented me and I don't get paid for what I do. I didn’t pay the law firm so I would consider him an animal lover.”
Schmitt reportedly defended Dodge at a time when she was in danger of losing her license after neighbors complained about the way she was caring for homeless animals on land she inherited from her father.
“Eric Schmitt didn't know when he represented me what he was gonna find until he came out to my home and then he saw I had a beautiful house in Chesterfield,” Dodge said. “My Dad had built me a 700-square foot, heated air conditioned building for the animals to be in so he was pleased with that. Once he found out I was a good person and he liked what I was doing, he was more than happy to represent us and we won. I still have my license.”
Damrill did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
“Missouri is one of the worst in the nation when it comes to puppy mills,” Dodge added. “Everybody knows that the puppy mill havens of the world are in Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Kentucky. I try to save animals from places like that.”
Dogs were found deceased and in various stages of decay in enclosures at the Magic Puppies facilities with carcasses visible from the outside of the enclosure, according to the complaint. The surviving dogs had very thin bodies and no access to clean or potable water. The inspection also found that enclosures and facilities were not ventilated or air-conditioned, weeds and tall grass were not trimmed, and other various violations.