What started as a look into Bradford West Gwillimbury’s bylaws for licensed dog kennels took a much darker turn when Donna Power, an animal advocate who runs a group called Ontario Puppy Mills — Stop This Now, uncovered what she had deemed a "nefarious" local breeder.
The purpose of the group is to look at municipal bylaws related to dog kennels because it’s, as Power said, the only line of protection that the animals have.
“The provincial PAWS (Provincial Animal Welfare Services) is not very effective at all,” she says. “At a municipal level, under the bylaws, these are the rules and regulations of how a kennel operates in their jurisdiction.”
After someone reached out about a suspected puppy mill in Bradford, Power began investigating the town's bylaws. Online there was nothing about kennels — standards, rules, conditions — on the animal control portion of the town website.
“There’s no template from municipality to municipality on if they have to have bylaws, what they look like, or how specific they are,” she said. “It’s entirely up to the council and CAO.”
After reaching out to the mayor, councillors, and CAO, there was confusion around the situation. That was cleared up by Brent Lee, Bradford’s manager of bylaw enforcement.
“He sent me their kennel bylaws, and I asked why they’re not online,” she explained, “and he’s hopeful they’ll go up, but right now there are no public-facing bylaws at all about kennels. That’s an issue, but I’m confident in Brent and we’re working together to get that dealt with — he knows it’s important and he’s incredibly animal focused.”
In the process of clearing up the local kennel bylaw issues, Power began to discuss a local breeder known as Goliath Kennels with Lee. Goliath is a Saint Berdoodle breeder on Canal Road in Bradford run by “Deborah.”
“Goliath has been on my radar for a while,” she says. “I have a big list of about 175 puppy mills that my group has identified. I had got a call from someone saying there’s been a lot of complaints about the health of the puppies there.”
With Power already focused on the Bradford area, she and her group decided to do further research on the local breeder.
“Their Better Business Bureau ratings are horrendous,” she said. “So, I reached out to Brent again, but this time about Goliath. He explained to me that their licence hadn't (been renewed) and that they’re not licensed to sell (in Bradford) anymore.”
The town wouldn't comment on the specific details surrounding the reasoning behind the kennel's licence not being renewed but did confirm there have been complaints about the breeder.
“Goliath Kennels was previously licensed by the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury," said Lee. "Animal Control had received a number of complaints and they were investigated. I can state that the kennel is no longer licensed by the Town of BWG."
From there, Power went to Goliath’s website where a number is listed to text if interested in purchasing a dog. After texting the number, posing as an interested buyer, she found out shocking information.
“She told me they have litters right now and he’s got a litter where she’s mixing four different types of doodles,” said Power. “Four different distinct breeds and she’s selling them for $7,500. This type of unethical breeding is so brutal, it’s a cocktail of birth defects. This backs up why the Better Business Bureau has these ratings and reviews about sick puppies. Not just sick with defects, but sick with disease — coccidia, and severe giardia.”
After contacting animal rescue colleagues, Power found they had been filing complaints against Goliath to animal control. That led to animal control visiting the mill and not renewing their licence, she explained.
“She had almost 200 dogs on her property when they visited,” claimed Power. “She’s got what looks like portables all over the property and in February this year, there was a mass seizure of dogs from her, and rescues took in the dogs from her mill. And even when they were seizing the dogs, she wouldn’t let anyone in these buildings.”
Through telephone conversations and text messages, Power has been able to confirm that despite the seizure of puppies and Goliath’s licence not being renewed, they are still breeding and selling puppies.
“One of the biggest issues here is overcrowding, and it’s important to note that right now, BWG has no bylaw stating the maximum number,” Power said. “Many municipalities have a ceiling, so if you’re a licensed kennel, you cannot have more than 35 dogs for example. There’s no limit in BWG. What closed her down in the first place was not the number, but the conditions. It’s very dangerous because when you don’t have these standards and rules, it’s a red carpet for people who want to abuse the system.”
Goliath Kennels' Deborah would only comment by email, saying that her licence was not renewed because she didn't seek to renew it.
"I have had a kennel licence with the city of Bradford for the past five years running up until now. I have not renewed my licence with the city because I no longer need it," she said.
When asked about the conditions of the kennel, how many dogs they normally keep at one time, and about the negative reviews online of the kennel and reports of sick dogs, Deborah confirmed the Bradford kennel is closed, but denied the allegations.
"When we did have the kennel, it was a very clean kennel and our dogs were well cared for. We were an inspected kennel with the provincial government as well as the city, of which we always passed inspections," she wrote in an email response.
"Considering we were a well-known kennel, does it not make sense to you, that if our dogs were not being taken care of, that the city, as well as (provincial government inspectors) ... would have allowed us to keep running our kennel all these years? As well as the city who continued to renew our kennel licence each year? In order to receive our kennel licence, we had to pass these random inspections."
She maintains her staff were "amazing" and did a "good job".
"I cannot help what people say, but it does greatly bother me, especially when we employed, and had such excellent staff working for us, staff who were reliable and always worked hard to keep the kennel spotless and take care of our dogs," she wrote.
She says the kennel was heated in the winter and cooled in the summer.
"We had an amazing ventilation system so our kennel never smelt like urine and feces. Our dogs were cleaned and exercised regularly, they had food and water 24/7. Never was there a day that their food and water was empty. They were dewormed, and on a monthly flea and tick prevention program in the summer and fall for the ticks, they were vaccinated, groomed, etc. Our dogs were well cared for!" she wrote.
Last month, animal control officials went to Goliath’s property and were told that Goliath is moving its operation from 641 Canal Rd. in Bradford but were not told any details as to where other than it would be north of the town.
“She refused to say because she knows we would then inform the other municipality,” said Power. “Right now, she only has a handful of dogs but when I called her as an interested buyer, she told me there’s another litter coming next month. She’s got a pregnant dog and a live litter right now. There’s no way she should be in operation. It’s a sick business.”
Editor's Note, Sept. 13, 2022: The story has been altered from its original version, published Sept. 12, 2022, to clarify that the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society is not run by the provincial government as the breeder said. The Ontario SPCA and Humane Society is a registered charity that depends on donor dollars to provide care and shelter for animals in need. Also, the Ontario SPCA does not enforce the province’s animal cruelty legislation. Enforcement transitioned back to the provincial government in 2019. Animal welfare concerns must now be reported to the government’s Provincial Animal Welfare Services by calling 1-833-9Animal.
