Massive Puppy Mill Ring: Busted
Last week, Sheriff's deputies in Skagit and Snohomish county in Washington State seized over 600 dogs from a ring of puppy mills. The puppy mill ring was a mother-daughter family business. The mother, Marjorie Sundberg, owned a puppy mill outside Mount Vernon in Skagit county. Her two daughters operated another series of homes and puppy mills in Snohomish county.
On Friday, January 16th, the Snohomish county Sheriffs seized 155 dogs from the first daughter's home on May Creek Road in Gold Bar. 87 of the dogs were crammed into the attic of the home. This batch of animals was taken to the Everett Animal Control. 80% of the dogs were pregnant females, and the dogs have been dropping litters left and right.
Evidence at that seizure led the deputies to two other locations. At a home owned by the second Sundberg daughter, deputies found 44 dogs. Since the dogs seemed to be in good condition, they were left at the property.
At the other home owned by the first Sundberg daughter, no dogs were found. However, there was ample evidence that dogs had recently been there. Witnesses saw dogs being moved from the property late the night before. The speculation is that the raids forced the first Sundberg daughter to crate up the dogs from this location and take them to her mother's property, in Skagit county.
On Wednesday the 21st, Skagit county Sheriffs arrived on the mother's property on Mountain View Road outside Mount Vernon. Although previous visits had put the dog population at between 100 and 200 dogs, on the 21st they found over 400 dogs. They were only able to seize 150 dogs.
In a separate incident on Wednesday the 21st, the Sheriffs seized 40 miniature Australian shepherds and Italian greyhounds from a puppy mill near Big Lake in Skagit county. This puppy mill was not connected to the Sundberg ring, but the dogs were similarly housed in filthy conditions.
On Friday the 23rd, the Sheriffs returned to the property and seized an additional 308 dogs. These dogs were taken to the Skagit Valley Fairgrounds for triage. By late Saturday night, all of the dogs had been dispersed to local animal shelters and boarding facilities which volunteered to help with the overflow.
Animal welfare activists in Skagit county have been lobbying for years, asking authorities for the kennel to be raided. Last year an animal control officer visited the property on Big Lake Road, and determined that the animals were not being mistreated. A loophole in the Skagit county laws meant that there was no upper limit on the number of animals which could reside on a homeowner's property.
Although the daughter apparently did reside at the puppy mill home in Gold Bar, the mother did not. The mother lived on a multi-million dollar property (paid for by the suffering of animals) and periodically stopped by the property on Mountain Vie w Road to feed the animals, and pick up dogs for sale. She brought the dogs back to her nice house, which had been set up with a small shop in the foyer. To unsuspecting purchasers, the mother appeared to be a lovely woman with a very nice, small breeding operation.
The Snohomish county dogs are being held at the Everett Animal Control center. The Skagit county dogs are being coordinated by S.P.O.T and housed at the the Humane Society of Skagit Valley and NOAH animal shelters. If you want to help, all three agencies are taking volunteer and foster applications, as well as financial donations, and donations of supplies. Please be patient - all of the agencies are overwhelmed, and are having difficulty responding to the large volume of phone calls and emails they have received.
