A Johnson County dog breeder who surrendered 131 dogs in his care has been charged with 41 counts of animal neglect.
Loren Yoder, 62, owner of the Sunset Valley Farm dog breeding business, is charged with five counts of animal neglect with injury, a serious misdemeanor, plus 36 counts of animal neglect without injury, a simple misdemeanor.
According to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were contacted last August by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship with regard to animal-welfare issues discovered at Sunset Valley Farm, located at 3027 540th St. SW in the town of Riverside.
IDALS had been conducting an inspection at the facility and had concluded that “a large number of dogs” were the victims of neglect, according to the sheriff’s office.
Yoder subsequently agreed to surrender his 131 dogs to the care of Iowa City Animal Services. Physical exams conducted by veterinarians led to a determination that many of the dogs had developed conditions caused by a failure to provide adequate care, the sheriff’s office said, and those conditions contributed to “unjustified distress, suffering, and pain to the affected animals.”
Yoder has yet to be arraigned and has not entered a formal plea, according to court records. He has been released without bond and has applied for a court-appointed attorney, listing assets of $1.5 million, and debts of $1,000. The court has yet to rule on that application.
Yoder has surrendered his commercial breeder’s license, although that action does not always indicate that a breeder is shutting down.
Some of the dogs at Sunset Valley Farm were reported by the sheriff to be too nervous or frightened to be fully examined. One of them, suffering from an infection, was so scared it “pancaked” to the floor during an attempted examination, according to the sheriff’s office.
Among the other injuries reported by the sheriff in court filings:
Open wound: A 10- month-old golden retriever had to be transported to another veterinarian for more extensive treatment after being surrendered. The dog had a “very large, deep, and open wound on its left hind limb,” authorities said.
Pain and fear: One dog “was not touchable for an exam,” authorities said, while others were “frozen in fear.” A veterinarian noted one such dog had “an obvious infection of his back paws” due to overgrown nails that had curled into its paws. “This is another painful issue that is easily preventable,” the veterinarian told the sheriff’s office.
Lacerations: One dog had wounds on its left side flank, left thigh, and right front paw, while another showed signs of a three-inch laceration on the top of its head, a small laceration on the center of its back, and “multiple healing wounds.” Another dog had a one-inch laceration on a rear knee and an infected 2 ½-inch wound on the underside of its neck.
Fleas, disease, matted coats: Many of the dogs that were deemed to be neglected but “uninjured” were described as thin and frightened with heavily matted coats, while others showed signs of infections, severe dental disease or “fleas everywhere.” One such dog is described in court papers as “extremely matted” with fecal matter “very badly matted into all four paws.” The dog was described as “very thin” and “extremely frightened.” Another dog was described as being “matted with feces” and suffering from a severe infection of the ear canal, as well as an umbilical hernia in which the abdominal lining or one portion of an abdominal organ was bulging or protruding.
Yoder canceled his USDA license in 2022
After being cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for violations in the first, second and third quarters of 2022, Yoder was issued an official warning from the USDA for violations found during a September 2022 visit. Yoder then canceled his USDA license in an apparent effort to avoid additional inspections by the USDA.
However, the business continued to operate at the same property, and it remained subject to state oversight and continued to be inspected by IDALS.
The state report for IDALS’ Aug. 24, 2023, inspection of the property cited several deficiencies:
Whelping barn — In the business’ whelping barn, where female dogs were confined with puppies for the first few weeks after they’re born, the inspector noted the temperature was in the 90s and there were not enough fans “to remove sweltering heat” from the area. Roughly 16 mothers were in heat distress, the inspector reported. The whelping building also had an “over-abundance of flies,” the inspector stated.
Outdoor runs — In the outdoor runs, there was an excessive number of weeds and holes in the ground were not being filled to prevent injury. A golden retriever was running loose at the time of the inspection, and the outdoor enclosures were equipped with self-feeder mechanisms marred by what the inspector called a “heavy presence of flies indoors and out, dead and not.”
Staffing levels — The number of personnel employed by the kennel was “insufficient” for the number of dogs on hand, the inspector reported. “By their own admission Loren, Lloyd, and Uncle David Lee have been providing all 131 animals with less than minimal supervision or care,” the inspector wrote in her report.
In January 2023, Loren Yoder was cited by IDALS for several violations, although the published report provided few details of conditions inside the facility.
“Bedding must be provided at all times to your outdoor population during inclement weather!” the inspector reported. Her report also included a bold-faced warning that IDALS might “limit the number of animals allowed in any housing,” but the report didn’t state why that warning was issued.
The report also stated that “all animals pictured” needed medical attention, although no pictures were published as part of the report.
During the September 2022 visit, a USDA official cited Yoder for one direct violation and six noncritical violations pertaining to the attending veterinarian and inadequate veterinary care, the method of animal identification, recordkeeping, animal housing facilities, primary enclosures, and feeding of the animals.
The inspector noted that three dogs appeared to be seriously underweight, and yet Yoder was unaware of two of the dogs’ condition and none of the three had been evaluated by a veterinarian. During the inspection, four adult poodles were spotted running loose on the property and had to be rounded up and returned to their enclosure.
