More on Kathy Bauck, MN Puppy Miller Charged with 9 Felonies- VIDEO
See Update – 11/28/08 – Puppy Mill Owner Wants Video Suppressed – VIDEO
In August I did a story on Kathy Bauck, owner of Pick of the Litter Kennel in New York Mills, MN. She was charged with abuse, torture and practicing veterinary medicine without a license, 9 felony charges. All you need to do is google her name and you’ll find page after page, usually complaints and problems related to her and her kennel.
The most unbelievable thing is that she is still in business! Even being convicted in the past and now facing at least 9 felony charges, she is still operating her ‘breeding business.’
Bauck, who is a licensed breeder with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was found to be in noncompliance with her license after USDA inspections in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, according to records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
“She has been cited for inadequate record-keeping, animals with swollen limbs, missing skin, animal fighting with each other inside her facility, unsafe and unsanitary housing. You name it, she’s been cited many times by the USDA,” Jill Fritz, Minnesota Humane Society Director said.
In September, Bauck’s attorney, Zenas Baer, filed to have the charges dismissed saying that there was a lack of probable cause.
Baer said the charges against Bauck are based on self-serving information from Jason Smith. Smith’s goal, Baer said, was “to shut down an otherwise longstanding, responsible business in the community.” (You have to laugh at this statement… responsible? Yeah, she’s responsible alright, for cruelty, abuse and death!)
According to Baer, Smith is part of the Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS). This group describes itself as a national animal welfare organization promoting the ethical treatment of companion animals by commercial breeders. CAPS also claims its members have investigated over 1,000 commercial breeding facilities in 16 states since 1995.
If the charges are not dropped, Baer would like the Otter Tail County District Court to suppress all secretly-obtained evidence collected by Smith during the time he worked at Pick of the Litter Kennels. This includes 10 to 12 hours of audio and video footage of Smith working in barns, as well as written summaries of each day’s activities.
Baer argues that as of May 13, when Smith met with Det. Keith Van Dyke of the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office, Smith became an extension of law enforcement. Smith then proceeded to investigate Bauck’s property without a warrant, violating her Fourth Amendment rights.
Baer also said he believes Smith created evidence against his client. Furthermore, he said, if any abuse had taken place on Bauck’s property, Smith would have been required by law to remove animals from the site, which he did not. (Fergus Falls Journal)
Yeah, you can bet he wants the 10-12 hours of video and audio footage suppressed. It conclusively shows that the charges against her are not without merit. I’d like to know how Baer is going to prove that Smith ‘created evidence’ when the video clearly shows her, and her daughter, abusing and torturing dogs, again and again.
Warning – If You’re Sensitive, Don’t Watch the Video – Some Graphic Footage!
Some Video Of Abuse Taking Place at Pick of the Litter Kennel by Kathy Bauck
Thing is, Jason Smith is not the only one willing to speak out about abuses that have taken place at Kathy Bauck’s Pick of the Litter Kennel.
Yet Smith is not the only employee to raise questions about Bauck’s conduct. According to court records, sheriff’s personnel spoke with a juvenile employee in August who had worked at Pick of the Litter Kennels for over a year. The employee claimed to have witnessed Bauck euthanize five dogs by use of a large wooden box connected to the exhaust system of an ATV. The employee also said she had seen Bauck performing hernia and neutering operations on dogs in which the employee believed no anesthesia was used. These operations were also alleged to have been performed on a table in the employee break room.
Awww, Bauck’s lawyer is saying the the charges are putting Bauck at an economic disadvantage and people aren’t buying puppies from her. Well what about the disadvantage she puts these dogs in? Guess they’re ‘just dogs’ and he doesn’t give a damn any more than Kathy Bauck does. I hope to hell she loses everything!
In recent years, the kennel purchased between 800 and 1,000 animals annually and sold between 3,000 and 4,000 animals a year, according to USDA documents. Just imagine all the victims of her abuse and torture!
If you watched the video above, you saw scenes that made you cringe or want to be sick!
As a breeder operating Pick of the Litter, Cathy Bauck is supposed to comply with all U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations. But she doesn’t.
For example, puppies’ paws slip through openings in their cage floor. Bauck was cited for this in 2006. The USDA said it “could potentially case injury to the legs,” and to “correct immediately.”
But Bauck told her staff to only use mats when inspectors are around.
“And the minute she leaves, we pull them up,” Bauck said.
Bauck has also been cited for failing to provide “adequate veterinary care” and to “correct immediately.”
But the CAPS investigator saw emaciated pregnant mothers, sick puppies, dogs suffering from serious infections and open wounds.
“I just can’t hardly sew it up,” Bauck said. “It’s going to have to heal.”
You see this is her own words and her own image, the horrors Kathy Bauck inflicts.
Judge Wally Senyk should have ruled on Baer’s motion on 10/9 and I am waiting to find some follow-up on this.
Also at issue is a case from earlier this year when Bauck entered a guilty plea to one count of practicing veterinary medicine without a license.
In that case, Bauck was sentenced to 120 days in jail with 110 days stayed on condition she have no similar violations. Prosecutors have asked the court to impose the remaining jail time.
A loophole in Minnesota law has let Kathy Bauck keep over 1000 dogs and continue to operate her kennels; Minnesota law does not allow local animal investigators access to facilities regulated by the USDA.
This woman needs to be shut down in the worst way!! In trouble again and again, animal abuse, torture, wanna-be vet… piece of trash!! Throw her in jail, save the dogs and puppies!
Minnesota has proposed legislation that will change their current laws and if the Breeder Bill passes, it will give investigators access to hold breeders accountable for their actions. Hopefully it won’t be too late for many of the poor dogs under Bauck’s ‘care’.
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I watched the video. Disgusting. How many out there want to join me in picking up her fat derriere and throwing it in the same vat as she did with the puppy. Gas is on me.
@AIR – Andrea, I’m right next door in WI, you have no idea how often I’ve thought about taking a drive that way but I’m afraid that I’d only wound up in trouble if I actually saw this piece of trash in person! The vat would be a starting place, just make sure we hold her down good so she is well ‘cleaned’…. she just makes me feel evil!
i sense a road trip. i’m ready. i’ll chip in with the gas. i’ll also supply a few bottles of clorox. after we put her in the vat we can rinse her off with the ‘clorox water’. we have to make sure that when we put her in or take her out of the vat that she gets a few scrapes and cuts so wshe knows what it feels like to have that toxic stuff poured on her.
Don’t tempt me guys!!Don’t tempt me!!!Living,breathing,POS!!And I didn’t even watch the videos!!
My brother bought one of this woman’s dogs. I thought it’d be a great addition to his life, but we learned quickly this dog had a troubled past. It took nearly a year for the pup to be healthy (for the most part at least). He ended up having to be sent to an obedience school for 8 weeks and it was there we also found out he was taken away from his mother way too early. This lady has damaged this beautiful pup in more ways I care to know about. Seeing what she’s done just makes me sick to my stomach, and running out of tears to shed. How can someone do such a thing so such beautiful animals?! She can rot in jail forever!!
Sounds gfood to me too … I’ll chip in for the gas…. but affarid I’ll do more then just toss her fat butt into the vat first….
Of even greater concern than this demented woman’s behaviour is the authorities absolute lack of concern for her victims. We have seen the same here in New Zealand where endless complaints about cruelty and neglect against known puppy millers resulted in absolutely no action from the SPCA or even the veterinary association here. What is that REALLY about?
@AIR -
I’d be happy to join you and don’t forget her sleezy daughter, as well!
@Amanda – I’m so sorry to hear about your brother’s dog and hope that he will be the wonderful addition to the family you hoped to start with. People like this don’t give a damn about the dogs, that’s how they can do this. The video made that quite clear.
@Karen – All I can say, Karen, is, what is it always about? Somehow, somewhere, it all comes down to the almighty buck! Maybe it’s donations or backing or support but the bottom line is the same bottom line everywhere! Sad but true.
@Vicki T – So true, Vicki, so true. Toss’em all in the vat!
IM DEEPLY SAD FOR THOSE POOR DOGS! IF THE JUDGE DONT PUT BEHIND BARS OR ANYONE INVOLVED WITH THIS CASE DOESN’T DO IT THEN THEY BETTER GET THEIR HEADS EXAMINE INCLUDING MS. BAUCK AND HER FAMILY. IM APPALLED AND DISGUSTED AFTER SEEING THIS VIDEO-POOR DOGS. I HAD TO CRY WHEN WATCHING BECAUSE THOSE DOGS ARE BEING TORMENTED!! SOMEONE BETTER PUT HER OUT OF BUSINESS FOR GOOD.
@AIR – I HAVE TO AGREE WITH YOU ON PICKING UP THIS FAT MONSTER UP AND DOING THINGS SHE DOES TO HER DOGS. MAYBE PEOPLE SHOULD TAKE HER BUTT AND THROW HER INTO SOME INTESICIDES AND PUT IN A PILE OF DOG POO FOR A MONTH (JUST LIKE THOSE POOR DOGS ARE LIVING) I WOULD BE WITH ON YOUR PLAN BUT DONT HAVE THE FINANCIAL NEEDS OR CAR TO DO SO BUT NEXT YEAR IF THIS MONSTER IS STILL IN BUSINESS I WILL GO FOR IT! GOOD LUCK
Just a little over a month ago, I wandered in to one of Michigans “chain-type” pet stores and actually inquired to see the paperwork on a male, Keeshond, pup. Guess who the “breeder” (I use the term loosely) was?? None other than Kathy. I wish every person who walked into that store with their children would see the video and see what kind of people these pet stores are buying their animals from. Yes, I did confront the young man, who let me hold the pup while retrieving the paperwork and when confronted with her breeding, puppy mill practices, the young man was astounded and taken back all while promoting the store and their careful choices with who the acquire puppies from. Blah, Blah, Blah! She and her puppies are still alive and well here in Michigan!!
She needs to be dumped in a vat of bleach and hung out to dry!!
I too bought a puppy from this woman and like others, spent a lot of time at the vet because he was so unhealthy. He was so unhealthy that we almost lost him. This kind of operation needs to be shut down and people like her need to be locked up.
Have we seen an update on this yet Deeanna? I wish I lived there right now. I’d pick you all up and we’d go picket this woman’s facility with a vengeance. Book two weeks off work and dig out the tents and billies. A rowdy relentless protest all day – and then we’d go back at night and raid her kennel – taking as many victims as we can – then ask these judges why they didn’t do this themselves – legally.
The judiciary needs to be as embarrassed as this appalling perpetrator – and seriously held to account for their callous lack of meaningful action.
In our dreams I guess until we get organised and go do it rather than talk about it. I know, I’m a rabble rouser. Best kind of rousing happens with the rabble of course. (-;
@Karen Batchelor – Nothing new aside from the fact that, of course, she pleaded ‘not guilty’ to everything.
Hopefully the videotaped evidence with help in moving things forward. I think the USDA is going to take another look at things as well. All their past reports show her as satisfactory. Unbelievable!
If the USDA found her facility ’satisfactory’ you have to wonder who these people are. What happens to them that they become so inured to the suffering of a fellow creature that this auschwitz of a kennel can continue for so long?
Maybe it’s time they were identified and asked to explain themselves.
The attorney representing Bauck against charges of animal cruelty is Zenas Baer, 218-483-3372, zbaer@zbaer.com. Baer is attempting to get the CAPS undercover video disallowed as evidence, freeing his client to continue to engage in these horrific practices.
Baer has made a name for himself as a champion against the cruelty of male circumcision. So our question to him should be: As someone who feels so strongly about protecting powerless day-old human males against an entrenched medical procedure, how can you support Kathy Bauck’s right to torture powerless puppies and their mothers?
The Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture is Gene Hugoson, 651-201-6219
Gene.Hugoson@state.mn.us. The foot-dragging with respect to Bauck’s operation is happening on his watch.
Our question to him should be: What is it going to take, Gene? How many suffering puppies and mothers will it take for you to decide that it is time to pull the license and take steps to shut down this operation?
Excellent post Eloise. That is exactly what is needed in such an outrageous example of bureaucratic inertia and autocratic arrogance: a bunch of indefatigable whistleblowers prepared to expose the individuals responsible for such a disgusting lack of action – and again when we see the wet bus ticket penalty applied to this offender.
Every day that this issue languishes on the back-burner is another day of unimagineable horror for the dogs this psycopath is inflicting herself on.
I can not believe all of the crap you all are saying! I was that juvenille employee at Baucks kennel and i do not agree with them trying to shut her down! I did not see or hear half of the stuff that the stupid undercover employee claims he did. Smith is a dumb man who doesn’t have a life so he goes around destroying everyone elses. You people are pathetic. You don’t even know Kathy and right away you assume that she is a bad person. It’s wrong and you all should be ashamed.
Kathy is not a psychopath! She is a human being who loves her dogs. I only talked to that stupid sheriff because i was called and they gave me no other choice. I really don’t like you people that think that owning a dog kennel is cruel. Kathy never hurt her dogs and she would never do anything to intentionally hurt her dogs. I am only 17 years old and I am more mature than you old people! I can not believe that you would assume that i agree with you! @Karen Batchelor -
Well, Vonnie, after such an unseemly rant aimed at the good folk here who have seen the video-taped footage of your friend Kathy and her horrendous deeds tells me everything I need to know about your personality disorder.
You are a very angry and confused individual and rather young for your 17 years.
Even if you only saw “half” the stuff Mr Smith has captured on his vidoed evidence you should be as outraged as the rest of us that such a manifestly unfit individual is allowed to go on running a kennel.
So the sheriff is “stupid”, we are “pathetic”, Mr Smith is “dumb” and we are collectively “old” – how do you know?
We don’t know your friend Kathy and nor do we want to. We just want to see her out of the business of flagrant animal abuse.
You need to have a long hard look at yourself Vonnie.
Bauck,s number is 218 346 6019
hi i am so sick of all these people who abuse animals and get away with little or no jail time the laws need to be stricker. here in oshkosh the city council won the vote with 6 voting to kill our 35 to 40 deer who reside at the vulcan quarry. they are going to get sharpshooter to come at nite and shoot these deer in the dark with no regard to first of all human life and second of all all the deers lifes, its is sickening this town how things are so screwed up here with a ton of more important things the council should be worried about but oh no they want to murder all of our tame and named deer. some site suggest we get the 3 snowmobilers to come in here and they can run over and chase the deer theyd probably do it for a 12 pack of beer. why cant we learn to live with the deer they were here before we were. time for some new people on the council here i tell you. i know 6 who wont be getting my vote next election time. and they all better hope if they get reincarnated that they dont come back as deer at the oshkosh vulcan quarry. they are all gods creatures thou shall not kill i am sure he meant animals also. eye for a eye toooth for a tooth. what comes around goes around, i would of never made that decision i couldnt live with myself it is plan wrong to slaughter those deer because a few folks cryed about the deer ate some landscaping did they see the deer do it? maybe a rabbit did it. time for some new blood in this town. and i dont mean the deers.
ohhh i just saw the video it is so sad i would have no problem inflicting pain on that cruel cold hearted dog breeder. the video is so disturbing how can someone like her still be out breeding dogs and not in jail for animal abuse. like i said laws need to get alot stricker in wis for puppy mill. that woman should be on the wall of shame. treating those poor pups and dogs as she did in the video no regard for animal life only the almighty dollar bill. lady your suck i hope you get shut down and all your animals find loving caring homes they deserve and may your ass rot in a jail cell for the rest of your life.
I just watched the Video. It makes me so angry and sad i wanna scream!!!! I have a dog rescue site because i love dogs,and wish i could save them all.You know some of our dogs that we rescue have been beated too,but you know there souls shine bright,because of people like us who care!!!!!!!
She said that was a bath for cows??? well howcome we didnt dunk the cow???
The trial started yesterday, 3/17/09 with jury selection:
for updates google ottertail county news
ANd to think innocent animals die at the hands of these fiends every day and the law allows this to happen. She and her daughter need to be abused physcially and disposed of.