Puppy Mill Investigation Part 3

(Sloansville, N.Y.) Our investigation started with a viewers email describing dogs living in deplorable conditions at Happy Apple Kennel in Sloansville, so we decided to check it out for ourselves. With undercover camera's our crew found windows covered up, dogs outside in the cold, trash buildup inside, and dogs with difficulty walking.

A week later we brought an expert in, Brad Shear of the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society. He spotted dogs being housed in a dark room, one cage on top of the other. Based on that, we contacted the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department to see if they had any complaints against the kennel's owner, Dake Fu. They immediately wanted to know what we knew.

In 2006, owner, Dake Fu, was charged with animal cruelty after 14 dogs were found on his property living in deplorable conditions. He was later cleared of those charges. After viewing our clips, Undersheriff Jeff Smith decided to send a Deputy to check on the conditions there. Wired with a CBS 6 microphone, Deputy Jason Nare's goal was simple: to search the property with Fu's permission, looking for any sign of animal abuse. Fu tried to reach his lawyer, but had no luck, so he showed Nare around the house. Nare left Happy Apple Kennel, a much cleaner place than what was captured by our cameras. He said, "To be honest with you, there's nothing in there."

According to the state Agriculture and Markets law as long as animals have food, water and shelter, they're considered cared for. Undersheriff Smith adds: "Many times I see cases that bother me personally and I don't feel that the animal is being treated properly, but there's no avenue in the law, the way it's written today, that will allow us to take action."

For decades, Pennsylvania was known as the puppy mill capital of the country, but that's changing. In 2006, Governor Edward Rendell proposed sweeping changes to clean up the problem, such as strict enforcement of current laws and new legislation for criminal penalties. Many of those puppy mill operators are now shut down. The only problem is they're opening up shop in New York State. Stephanie Shaine of the Humane Society of the United States says:

"New York could have the same problem, that Pennsylvania's had for so long. People learn you can operate puppy mills, you can do so with almost no oversight, so you can treat these dogs poorly and do pretty much whatever you want and if New York doesn't crack down on the now, they're going to say that horrible title. Puppy Mill Capital of the East."

Assemblyman James Tedisco added: "This doesn't live up to the law that we put in place and that means we have to change the law, make it stronger, put some amendments forward put more strength in the ability of Ag and Market's to go in there and protect our animals."