Oakland County Kennel Owner Fights Animal Rights Activists' Negligence Claims

Dozens of animal rights supporters gathered in the Farmington Hills 47th District Court last week to testify against Gabriel’s Chien d’Or Kennel. Gabriel charged with violating Farmington Hills’ zoning ordinance with her kennel, the Observer & Eccentric reports.

The case began last year after Pam Sordyl, founder of Puppy Mill Awareness of Southeast Michigan, filed a complaint with city officials. Karen Irwin, a former employee of the kennel, notified Sordyl of what Irwin describes as a “deplorable environment”.

“I know what kennels are supposed to be,” Irwin said. “And this wasn’t it, the dogs were attention starved, dirty.”

Mary Gabriel of Farmington Hills operates Gabriel’s Chien d’Or Kennel in the basement garage of her Rollercrest Street home. The city says that’s a non-conforming use, but Gabriel’s attorney says the operation was “grandfathered” in.

The kennel made the Humane Society of the United States’ 2013 “hall of shame” list of the 101 worst dog keens in the country. HSUS said the kennel failed multiple county inspections.

Photographs taken at county animal inspections show dogs with patches of missing hair; dogs confined in small, rusty cages; and dirty, overcrowded conditions. The kennel has failed “many state inspections” since 2008m and has been the subject of buyer complaints, HSUS said.

One of Sordyl’s goals is to have the kennel shut down, and she’s looking to Oakland County officials legislatively impose stricter rules for kennels.

Gabriel, who houses dogs in one indoor and two outdoor kennels, believes that her kennel is under compliance with the laws, according to her attorney, Dan Ryan.

Bob Gatt, who manages the animal control division of the large county-owned Oakland Pet Adoption Center, told The Macomb Daily in May that Gabriel’s clinic was in full compliance. All kennels in the county are inspected annually.

He acknowledged that unsatisfactory conditions have been found in the past, including last summer, when officials gave Gabriel two weeks to correct deficiencies. Among the complaints was that the kennel was housing more than 50 dogs in violation of county ordinances.

Gatt told the newspaper that he and officials with the Farmington Hills Police Department and Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office were poised to shut down the kennel for that violation, “but within a short period of time, (the owner) came into full compliance.”

“Our goal is not to shut people down; it’s to make sure the kennels are safe,” he told the newspaper. “That’s not what we do here.”

The hearing will continue Aug. 29 at 9 a.m.

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Photo: Gabriel’s Chien d’Or Kennel was housing more than 50 dogs in violation of county ordinances in 2013 and many animal rights supporters alleged that the kennel is still in violation of Oakland county laws. (Photo courtesy of Puppy Mill Awareness of Southeast Michigan Facebook Page)