Kerry's Puppy Barn

September 14, 2018

CAPS Kansas Director investigated Kerry's Puppy Barn in Wichita Kansas:

8/1/18

Kerry advertises her puppies on puppyfind.com. The 2 shih Tzu puppies she had for sale were $550 cash only (14 weeks old). I phoned Kerry and made arrangements to see her puppies on 8/1/18.

When I talked to Kerry, she was on her way to her vet in Crawford County, KS (4 counties away). I asked her why she was using a vet so far away and she indicated the vet was also a breeder. Her KS state forms indicate her vet is Laura Moreland of Girard, KS. Laura is the vet on the gov’s pet advisory committee.

I questioned her about any shih tzu specific health issues and she didn’t tell me about allergies that these dogs are prone to have. Kerry said that she also bred poodles and shih tzu poodle mixes. I told her that I was a novice dog owner and she said I should visit Petland to see the different kind of puppies (to help me decide upon a breed).

When I arrived at Kerry’s rural home for our appointment on 8/1/18 @ approx. 12:45p , her entire yard was fenced and the gate was closed with a no trespassing sign attached. There were construction workers in her yard, one opened the gate for me. I went up to the house rang the doorbell and knocked. I heard what sounded like several puppies barking inside. No one came to the door. One of the workers said that Kerry had just left. I asked if it would be OK if I went out back and looked at the puppies. They said “sure”.

There were approx. 25-30 poodles, shih tzu’s and mixes within a small fenced area. There were also 2 small buildings in the area with concrete dog runs/dogs on each side of the buildings. The area was very clean (she knew I was coming, there was still standing water in some of the dog runs where she had just cleaned). The ground in the area was covered with rock gravel (large enough to hurt the dogs/puppies paw pads). There was toddler play equipment in the area for the dogs. The dogs appeared to be in good health and clean.

I did see one shit tzu that was loose in her larger yard who appeared to have some type of allergy on his/her eyes. That dog was not in the doggie enclosure.

Although it’s obvious that Kerry’s Puppy Barn is a puppy mill (she’s breeding designer breed puppies), her dogs appear to be well cared for and the dog fenced enclosure was clean and in good repair.