This is in reference to the recent seizure by animal control of eighteen Silverhall Cocker Spaniels. The Silverhall Cocker Spaniels and the Pikes (the owners) are AKC Breeders of Merit, and giants in the show world with over 250 champions to their name. In 2018 they were inducted into the Cocker Spaniel Hall of Fame. They were also Breeder of the Year in the sporting group that same year. Needless to say it is shocking that their dogs were seized.
Just to be up front and clear, I think it's absolutely ridiculous that animal control seized ANY of the dogs. None were abused or neglected, and the animal control officers have emphatically stated as such. They were definitely being fed and cared for. The dogs were in kennel runs at the time of the seizure and the kennels in question were being cleaned twice daily by Mr. Pike, as Mrs. Pike had suffered an ankle injury.
What was the complaint? The room the dogs were kenneled in smelled of dog waste.
I've got some news for you: unless you are having your dogs poop directly into a plastic bag to be immediately discarded, dog waste smells. The grooming salon I used to work in had a kennel block in the back, and we'd often each be working on up to three dogs at a time, to a total of about 20 dogs at any given moment. And let me tell you, if one single dog pooped we would all know about it!
On days where I couldn't take my little Chihuahua mutt with me to work, I'd keep her in a glorified exercise pen with pee pads. Trust me, one half-pound puppy poop was enough of a stink that if she defecated while I was out, I would know it the moment I stepped through the door.
It's absolutely unreasonable to think that a kennel area will never have an odor.
Plus the animal control officers showed up just before the afternoon kennel cleaning, when they knew it would be the at the worst possible, odor-wise. Had they shown up any later, the kennel room would have been pristine.
So what terrible crime led them to believe that all of the dogs were in danger, and thus had to be removed? Well...the dog poop smell. That's literally it. The Pikes have been charged (CHARGED, not convicted, CHARGED) with one single count of animal cruelty. Why they had eighteen dogs seized but have one single legal charge is beyond me. It's absurd. The authorities have been pretty adamant that there was no abuse. Some sources claim "neglect" but don't elaborate further, and these days people toss that word around so casually I don't know if I believe it. I honestly don't know what exactly the charge is for.
Which brings me back to my original sentiment: why were the dogs seized at all? I've spoken to animal control officers in my own hometown, and they always stress that taking the animal away is the last thing they want. They would rather come to some kind of solution so the owner can keep the animal. They insist that animal seizure is the last thing they want. Yet it seems like in the case of the Silverhall Cockers, it was pretty much the first thing they did. So much for being a last resort!
I strongly suspect that the reason is because those are eighteen purebred, probably wonderfully bred and beautifully tempered Cocker Spaniels that the animal shelter would love to sell at a premium as rescues to pad their own wallets. Or, they're looking to make a mountain out of a pile of dog poop to tarnish the thundering reputation of some amazing Cocker Spaniel breeders. Perhaps they want to send a message that they will harshly and unfairly punish ethical breeders who show. Lord knows rescues these days can't seem to tell the difference between ethical, good breeders and the unethical people who just churn out puppies for cash and think nothing of health or longevity!
So now there are eighteen Cocker Spaniels either in shelters or foster homes, and I am willing to bet that they are not receiving the care and attention that the Pikes lavished on them. There's no guarantee they are being fed right, or brushed, or (and this is the ironic part) cleaned up after. The local shelter near me that operates with animal control in my area has kennels cleaned once daily, if that. They've been complaining of drainage issues they can't afford to fix for years now which leaves their kennels flooded with pee. How do we know the shelter the Silverhall dogs went to isn't similar to that awful shelter? If they are lucky, they will be fostered during this process and then reclaimed by their rightful owner, but I'm not holding my breath over here.
I think it should go without saying this is a gross overreach of power by animal control. I dearly hope that the Pikes are able to fight this and recover their dogs. Otherwise it sets a very dangerous precedent. Imagine if animal control shows up at your house and they justify taking away your dogs because of dog poop! After all, every dog poops. If a dog poops while in a kennel run, is that really considered neglect?
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