Fire A Puppy Mill

[Goldenblaze]

What would you call a 1600 sq ft building housing more than 190 dogs? This place is next door to another mill housing over 300 dogs. The one that burnt down is owned by the Forget's who run the Masson flea market animalerie. If anyone has been there you will know the pitiful conditions those poor animals are subjected to. Anima was notifed of this place - we will probably never know the results of that inspection (if indeed they did inspect).

You can also bet they are not registered with the CKC, so are also operating in contravention of the Animal Pedigree Act.

Quote:
Montebello kennel fire claims 190 dogs
Pekinese, Chihuahuas among purebreds lost in early-morning blaze

Jean-Francois Bertrand
The Ottawa Citizen


Saturday, June 23, 2007


Christian Forget, who breeds small dogs for his pet shop in Masson, doesn't yet know that a fire destroyed his kennel Thursday morning, killing close to 200 animals.

He and his son, Alexandre, have been on a long-awaited fishing trip in the woods near James Bay since Tuesday and cannot be reached.

His wife, Lucette, saw the blaze ravage the kennel, located on Highway 321, north of the village of St. Andre-Avellin, 12 kilometres northwest of Montebello, Que.

The owner of a property near the kennel called her in the middle of the night, and by the time she got to the building with her daughter, Genevieve, there was nothing she could do.

"I've calculated that we lost 190 dogs, including mothers about to give birth," she said.

Damages to the kennel, Chenil St-Andre, are estimated at $140,000, including the value of the animals: most were purebred, Yorkshire terriers, Chihuahuas and Pekinese. The building and its contents were insured, said Ms. Forget. "Insurance premiums were very expensive, but worth it for this large investment."

She said the insurance agent often visited to check on the dogs, housed in a 1,600 square-foot building.

"This was not a puppy mill, far from that. There was access to fresh water, windows, large pens inside. We never wanted to raise dogs in cages," said Ms. Forget. The dogs had access to outside pens, but only during the day.

St. Andre-Avellin fire Chief Jean-Pierre Malette said someone driving on the highway called 911 at about 2:30 a.m. "When we got there, the whole building was on fire, flames were coming out of the roof, which was starting to collapse," he said. The 16 volunteer firefighters worked for an hour-and-a-half to control the blaze, trucking in water pumped out of Petit Lac Simon, 10 minutes away.

The Surete du Quebec is investigating, but the fire chief said the cause of the fire appears to be accidental, probably due to an electrical fault.

Chief Malette said another building 40 feet away, an unrelated kennel, housed 300 dogs. They were all saved as the only damage was to the vinyl siding which shrunk from the cold water dowsed on it.

The owner of that nearby kennel, Marc-Alexandre Legris, could not be reached.

© The Ottawa Citizen 2007

[Angeleyes]

Wow... I dunno... in my opinion that is a terrible mill. There are places that house less dogs than that and I'd consider them a mill. Yet they state that it was "far from that"??? Like any pet stores puppies come from anyone other than mills and BYB's... puh-leez.

[Kandy]

190 dogs isn't a mill????? Yeah, whatever. Poor dogs. And with the insurance money, I'm sure they'll be right back in business.

[Goldenblaze]

Poor dogs how they must of suffered, this makes me ill.
"Insurance premiums were very expensive, but worth it for this large investment."
These are living breathing animals not a investment IMO

[Melinda]

rest assured please that dogs that small went "to sleep" from smoke inhilation first....RIP little babies, you're finally free from your misery on earth