Breeder with 120 violations agrees to give up dogs to the Iowa ARL
Daniel Gingerich amassed 120 violations of the Animal Welfare Act in six months. He has officially agreed to give up hundreds of dogs to the ARL of Iowa.
Daniel Gingerich amassed 120 violations of the Animal Welfare Act in six months. He has officially agreed to give up hundreds of dogs to the ARL of Iowa.
Daniel Gingerich amassed 120 violations of the Animal Welfare Act in six months. He has officially agreed to give up hundreds of dogs to the ARL of Iowa.
Federal court documents show hundreds of dogs owned by Daniel Gingerich, a southern Iowa dog breeder who amassed 120 violations of the Animal Welfare Act, will now be rescued by the Animal Rescue League of Iowa.
Records show Gingerich has permanently surrendered all of his dogs at three sites in Lamoni, Seymour and Davis City, Iowa. The 64 dogs at the Davis City and Lamoni sites were taken to the ARL of Iowa on Tuesday. 240 dogs housed in rural Seymour, Iowa, will be transferred starting on Monday, Nov. 1, records show.
"The parties are making arrangements regarding the transfer of the remaining dogs and will keep the Court updated on that front," court records state.
Monday, Nov. 1 was supposed to be the day a federal judge ruled on where the dogs should go. Gingerich wanted them to go to an Indiana-based rescue called "The Love Pet Project." But, the Department of Justice and USDA requested they be transferred to the ARL of Iowa.
Both parties requested the hearing, and anything else in the case, to be postponed for at least a week.
Gingerich also told investigators, per records, that he had 189 dogs remaining. USDA and DOJ claimed that number was more than 450. Records now show it was at least 306, with more dogs still waiting to be transferred.
KCCI spoke with Dr. Denise Katz, the leader of The Love Pet Project, who said she and her team came to Iowa to take inventory of the dogs and start the rescue process. But, ultimately left after four hours. Before Thursday's agreement, Katz said her rescue operation backed off and withdrew their name from taking the dogs.
KCCI has also reached out to the ARL of Iowa multiple times in the last few days, who declined to comment. In an email response sent Thursday afternoon, the group says it will release more information on Friday morning.
Gingerich amassed 120 violations of the Animal Welfare Act since March, according to USDA records. USDA investigators visited his Seymour, Iowa, facilities a total of 18 times.
KCCI has been following the story for weeks.
Allegations include that Gingerich repeatedly failed to provide adequate nutrition, potable water and veterinary care for his dogs which resulted in "unnecessary suffering and death."
Further, documents allege Gingerich fed dogs moldy, contaminated food and did not give them access to potable water. Puppies were also not properly vaccinated against distemper and parvovirus, which led to multiple outbreaks, according to court documents.