“This post contains affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.”
After a citizen’s complaint launched an investigation into popular Oklahoma City breeder, OKC Poms, 124 dogs were seized, rescued from deplorable conditions while OKC Poms’ owner and breeder, Linda Roach, who has been breeding dogs for over 30 years, faces 124 counts of failure to provide humane care and treatment and two counts of failure to provide veterinary care to a dog.
The OKC Poms website and Facebook page, which have since been taken down, showed images of happy, healthy, well-groomed puppies. But officials say what the conditions at the facility were far from acceptable.
Animal Welfare Officer, Mike Cronic told KFOR-TV News, “Cockroaches in the food, there was feces everywhere. The cages hadn’t been cleaned properly for quite some time. There was a ventilation issue. So it was pretty bad.”
Just 5 months ago, Linda Roach passed inspection and her license was renewed. So, how does this happen?
“When they get their inspections done, they know it’s going to happen. So they do everything possible to make sure it’s clean and animals are taken care of. It’s after the inspectors leave that things change,” Animal Welfare’s Trace Lyons told KFOR.
After the inspection, Roach, like other puppy mill breeders, simply stopped caring for the dogs properly. USDA requirements for commercial breeders are already at a bare minimum level of care and comfort for the animals. What’s “appropriate” for breeders is a level of care far inferior to how we, as pet parents, would expect dogs to be provided for. To fail an inspection means that conditions in the kennels were absolutely deplorable.
While 124 dogs were seized, sadly, 41 were allowed to remain with Roach because, officials said, they were living in acceptable conditions.
It is likely (but not definite) that Roach will lose her breeding license. Investigators may add more charges as a case is built against OKC Poms.
All but two of the dogs rescued appear to be healthy. Many will be available for adoption at Central OK Humane Society and the Bella Foundation. For more information, contact Animal Welfare at 405-297-3100.
Crystal
May 9, 2019 at 3:00 pm
Update they left days with her and they have now dropped all charges against her. She now just sells her puppies online or at the flea markets
Sara
Sep 24, 2019 at 11:06 am
Bought two poms from this lady and one in Sept 2013, I saw no evidence at all of what they’re stating here, both of my poms were clean, no fleas and very friendly. Sounds like a crock to me.
Tedd
Jan 6, 2014 at 2:19 pm
I rescued one of her babies. She is beautiful. She is very shy no human contact very skittish. She has no teeth and no clawes due to her conditions she was living in. She has barked into permanent hoarseness. She is such a Strong little soul. SHe is now in a home where she is treated like a princess. She is slowly starting to wag her tail and interact with us.
She will never be hurt again for sure. I am so glad we could save one!!!
Pam
Oct 3, 2014 at 2:27 pm
Tedd, you are a wonderful person, that dog will love you forever!!! Kudos to you 🙂
crystal
Oct 10, 2014 at 2:21 pm
I have one too! I love her so much she is so special I hope that she can recover. She has had 14 teeth pulled now she is approx 3 or 4 years old. It is so sad and yet happy at the same time
Nora Terrell
Dec 16, 2013 at 7:40 pm
Trouble is the way the federal USDA Aphis AWA laws are, you are required to confine the dogs in what I would consider inhumane conditions that will create poorly socialized dogs. They require them to be on non permeable surfaces like wire or concrete. Isolate the pups from other dogs other than their mother until 4 months old . Cages as their primary enclosures is the norm to conserve space. Never allowed on grass or the ground basically all in the name of prevention of disease. Basically the federal regulations require commercial kennels to raise dogs like battery chickens or a commercial rabbitry. Concrete can break a dog’s foot structure down to create flat feet as they are continuously on it. So what we as pet owners decry is actually mandated by federal regs to prevent disease transfer or vectors.
Now cleanliness if someone has too many dogs is a major issue. And if the person does not put money back into the infrastructure to upgrade or invest in normal vet care and grooming, it results in a disaster for the dogs. Snowball effect.
petlover1970
Dec 2, 2013 at 6:53 pm
Why not put these puppy mills by rescuing dogs that need homes? Nearly every breed out there has a rescue…usually several. Paying for purebred puppies only fuels the demand for such puppy mills. Rescue a dog that needs a forever home from and rescue, and every time it will take money out of these vile breeders’ pockets!!!
Lanette Larson
Nov 26, 2013 at 3:09 pm
OMDoggie……are you kidding me??? WHY–OMG WHY would they even consider leaving ANY of those poor fur kids behind. SHAME — SHAME on them for leaving more innocent dogs, to her “LACK OF CARE”!!! I PRAY TO GOD she loses her license, for the sake of the ones LEFT BEHIND and for any future dogs to end up in her hands. I hope they throw the book at her and SET AN EXAMPLE OF HER AND WHAT NOT TO DO — to poor innocent dogs! May the DARK FORCES follow her to her grave.
Ellen Hatch
Nov 25, 2013 at 9:16 am
In politics there is a thing called a “revolving door” where a politician is paid off by a corporate head, then when he (or she) retires from the congress or senate, he (or she) is offered a comfy cushy job in the corporation that paid for his votes. I am wondering if this happens in the dog inspection world. In other words, do some inspectors deliberately look the other way because it will pay them down the road? Maybe someone can answer that question for me.
Rocko's Mom
Nov 23, 2013 at 4:26 pm
The problem with the 41 dogs left behind is that the inspector’s definition of humane conditions is not the same as ours. As I look at my two dogs sleeping on the floor by my feet, with full bowls of food and a warm home, I think now that is humane conditions. To an inspector, limited by the scope of the law, humane conditions simply means they aren’t standing in their own waste and aren’t crowded with multiple dogs in cages. As the article mentioned, the USDA commercial breeder care requirements are minimal. The bar is far too low to be called humane conditions by those loving pet owners out there.
Labrador Breeder
Nov 23, 2013 at 2:12 pm
That’s bull that she knew when inspections would happen. From what I’ve heard about larger breeders (I have a few dogs that live in my home like queens and kings, sleeping in our beds with us) they have no idea when the Dept of Agriculture will come inspect. Each state is different but she may have showered the inspectors with gifts and possibly forms of money. That’s why Puppy Mills do to stay open most of the time, especially in the Mid-west and PA. The place didn’t go from perfect to a disaster in 5 months. Don’t blame the smaller breeders who do it right. These Puppy Mills are the breeders who breed constantly to make a living, their dogs never feeling grass under their feet. It’s a far cry from a hobby of showing, obedience or hunting trials and occasionally breeding their dogs that live in clean surroundings within the home or turned out daily for a few hours in kennels. (I have no kennels, I have a fenced dog yard.) Consumers need to educate themselves and allow breeers like me help educate you if you call or email. I’ve worked with 100’s of people teaching them where to adopt a puppy from and where not to, what clearances to look for and the love given to adults and puppies. Reach out to your local club for the breed you want if you want a purebred dog. They can refer you. Be careful of well orchestrated websites. Some are pure bull, others are accurate. Expect a good breeder to question you a lot and who doesn’t mind the same from you. Shame on this woman with close to 200 dogs with her when they finally took the worst shape dogs. I agree, all should have been out of her care!
Ellen Hatch
Nov 25, 2013 at 9:23 am
I admire your attitude towards your dogs. I would never buy while thousands die in shelters but if you breed it should be for a hobby. And the dogs should be like family. I don’t know why anyone would ever buy a dog from a pet shop or puppy mill. When I go to Petco or Pet Smart there are perfectly wonderful dogs who need to be loved and cherished.
Lucky's Mom
Aug 4, 2014 at 11:37 pm
Umm,petco AND Petsmart buy from puppy mills…most major places do
dani
Nov 1, 2014 at 7:55 pm
Petco and PETsMART don’t sell dogs. They work with local shelters and rescues to adopt dogs and mostly cats. So no, they don’t work with puppy mills
Becky
Nov 22, 2013 at 8:59 pm
This woman is crazy. She gave one retired breeder to a fake rescue T.E.A.R.S. and I went to check on the dog on October 31,2013. The fake rescue woman told me she didn’t know where came from and she had only had her 6 days. However, she knew her birthday was in June and gave me shot records from May. I knew I had to take the dog and paid her and brought the dog home. I took her to my vet and he scanned her for her microchip number because I thought she might have been stolen. Her chip showed her owner was Linda Roach. My vet’s office spoke with Linda’s husband and he said she was given to Jennifer Campbell to find her a home because she was a retired breeder. I called and spoke with Linda Roach last week to get transfer of ownership. She was so rude and wanted me to give her an additional $75.00 for the microchip and the AKC papers. She also said she would have sold me the dog for $100.00. It was a horrible conversation! I had a feeling that she must have been a puppy mill! My vet’s office has been working with me this week to get her microchip and ownership in my name. I am don’t care about having AKC papers for her but I knew I didn’t want her returned to this hateful woman. My dog is 5 yrs old and she is like a puppy. I’ve been teaching her the basic things like going outside to potty. I am sure she was in a crate for 5 yrs only being let outside to potty and to breed! I am soooo glad I went with my intuition and brought this sweet dog home.
Laurie Astles
Nov 22, 2013 at 6:30 pm
Unfortunately, inspectors and animal services workers have their hands tied by appallingly inadequate laws concerning animal welfare. It’s the same story in far too many places. We all need to be very vocal about having these laws changed and giving people who work in animal welfare services meaningful enforcement powers.
Ellen Hatch
Nov 25, 2013 at 9:33 am
How do I go about working to improve the lives of dogs in puppy mills. Every time I see a petition for improving their lives i sign it but I would like to know specific issues in my own state and other states. I would like to call my congresspeople and senators. Who do I contact?
kathie bailey
Dec 3, 2013 at 3:38 pm
Go to your state’s website. They have the listings and contact information for all your congressmen and senators. Google animal welfare groups in your state. They can get you in contact with groups in your area. It can be a lot of work, but if everyone pitches in, positive results can happen.
katb
Kelli McNeil-Goodsir
Nov 22, 2013 at 3:29 pm
There needs to be a system of random surprise, on-site inspections to get the true picture of what is going on in these places. This is shameful that some dogs remained -it makes no sense. I pry she is charged and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Someone in authority needs to intervene and get all the animals out of there now!
Hildy Schwarz
Nov 22, 2013 at 1:04 pm
How could they leave dogs behind! This is absurd thinking. I just don’ get where their heads are at. Oh, I guess I do know! Ridiculous!!
Peter
Nov 22, 2013 at 1:01 pm
Lock her in a cell and throw the book at her with the maximum allowed penalty!
Barbara
Nov 22, 2013 at 10:58 am
Someone needs to work on getting those other 41 dogs away from this horrible person. Inspectors can’t be thinking that these 41 will receive humane treatment. She will take out her frustration on these dogs and they will be in an even worse situation. They need to do an impromptu inspection in a week or two and then take away the 41 remaining animals, if they are still alive!
Linda Eady
Nov 22, 2013 at 10:25 am
It makes me so sad to think about all those poor dogs left there.. Hopefully they will be saved soon…
Rachelle Kellogg
Nov 22, 2013 at 9:27 am
I’m as shocked as you are Marcia. That would be like child protective services removing 3 out of 7 children from an abusive home. She shouldn’t be allowed to have any fur babies and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Better yet, I think she should be treated the same way she treated them: lock her in a cage with all her filth.
Lisa Hyer
Nov 22, 2013 at 9:20 am
How dose this happen that 41 were allowed to remain with Roach because, officials said, they were living in acceptable conditions. That is like children services saying okay you only abused this child so you can keep the one you did abuse, what the hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Linda Roach, who has been breeding dogs for over 30 years, faces 124 counts of failure to provide humane care and treatment and two counts of failure to provide veterinary care to a dog. Needs her ass kicked, be a garbage person or a junk women because you do not need to have anything to do with animals…………….
Maribel Tirado
Nov 23, 2013 at 2:07 am
Leave pets with her??? What in the world?? What do the authorities think she’ll keep doing with them??? this piece of!@#$$%%^&^&** deserves not even a cockroach!!! TAKE ALL THE PETS AWAY FROM HER!!!! NEW LAWS, AND THEY SHOULD BE ENFORCED!!!! Tired of listening about cruelty, negligence and this is the result??? Yes, she will take it on the poor, innocent babies left behind!!!
Marcia Turco
Nov 22, 2013 at 9:17 am
Wait, they left babies with her???
pat
Nov 22, 2013 at 9:20 pm
How do we get one of the babies and give them a forever home?