It started with neighbors’ noise complaints about a suspected pet breeding business in Sharptown, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It led to a visit July 17 by Wicomico County Animal Control officers and Sheriff’s deputies with warrants. The public response has been overwhelming. The pets are being adopted. But officials say that raids like this are distressingly common. Kevin Diaz talked to Wicomico County Animal Control head Kim Nock.
A noise complaint about a suspected breeding operation in Sharptown led Wicomico County authorities to seize 43 dogs, three cats, five chickens and a turtle on July 17.
Animal Control officers and sheriff’s deputies said the pole barn housing the animals smelled strongly of ammonia. The animals lacked adequate water and appeared to have been exposed to extreme July heat.
“The problem was not with the physical condition of the animals,” said Kim Nock, director of both Wicomico County Animal Control and the Humane Society of Wicomico County. “It was strictly with the way the animals were being kept.”
The seizure forced the Humane Society to move quickly. Several animals were transferred to other shelters, while 30 dogs already housed at the Salisbury-area facility were placed in foster homes to create space.
Public interest has been strong, with more than 200 adoption applications submitted for the seized dogs.
Nock said similar cases reveal a largely hidden commercial breeding industry in which sellers conceal where animals are raised. Dogs advertised online are sometimes cleaned and brought to public meeting places (Nock mentions Walmart as an example) rather than shown at the breeding property.
“You should insist on seeing both parents of the dog, and you should insist on seeing where the dog is actually staying,” Nock said.
She encouraged prospective owners to consider established shelters and nonprofit groups, including Baywater Animal Rescue in Dorchester County, which evaluate animals and arrange meetings with household members and existing pets.
Nock also called for stronger licensing requirements for anyone breeding, selling or presenting themselves as an animal rescue. Under current county rules, licenses are generally required only for operations producing more than five litters annually or keeping more than five unspayed females.
"The business model is to make money off of breeding dogs," Nock explains. "They put the bare minimum into the animals, unfortunately."
