ELKHART COUNTY — A big business is growing in popularity across Indiana during these tough economic times — raising and selling puppies. But there are very few state and local regulations on how many dogs a breeder can have, and the conditions in which the dogs must live.

Last November WSBT did a special report on an Elkhart County dog breeding facility that some Humane Officers and lawmakers considered a puppy mill.

Shortly after that story aired, Humane Officers filed a complaint against the breeder for not being in compliance with the county's zoning laws.

That forced the breeder to hire an attorney and meet with the county zoning board to decide exactly how many dogs he can have. WSBT also discovered that same breeder does business with a local pet store.

The images our under cover cameras captured four months ago showed an excess of 100 dogs in that Elkhart County breeder's kennel.

"It was very alarming to see the number of dogs in each cage," said the Indiana Society to Prevent Cruelty President Eric Durcinka.

That video showed up to eight per cage — much different from the one or two dogs per cage in the photos the breeder's attorney, Loren Sloat, prepared for a hearing last month with the Elkhart County Board of Zoning Appeals. The attorney refused to address that difference.

"I have no idea what your video shows because I didn't see it," Sloat said. "No I don't have a response."

But later in the interview...he had a different response.

"The representations you made in your TV show the first time you aired this from somebody who said they just saw 'Cage after cage after cage after cage,' I think it was about six times, was totally an outrageous statement because there are 24 cages," Sloat said.

Elkhart County ordinance requires a Special Use Permit for anyone with more than four dogs, cats and other domestic animals over four months old, or anyone with more than two domestic animals kept for breeding or sale.

Sloat said his client, who is also a local RV worker, has been in the breeding business more than four years. County records show the breeder hadn't applied for the permit until now.

"It's maintained as a very clean operation," said Sloat.

"I think you're looking at optimum pictures," said Durcinka. You're not seeing the pictures that aren't prepared for your viewing."

Sloat showed several more photographs of the facility that sits on a 44 acre farm near Nappanee.

He said his client vaccinates, worms, treats and provides all the medical care that he can himself on site.

Sloat also had a copy of a petition his client's neighbors signed in favor of the business.

However, he never said how many dogs were on site when our cameras were there, or how many are there now.

When we asked Sloat if he would consider his client's operation a puppy mill, he said no.

"Absolutely not. If you want to know what a puppy mill is, look it up on the internet and you'll see places that are in poor repair, trashy, fecal material all over the place, dirty dogs."

After some debate, the board voted unanimously to grant the farmer a special use permit to breed 64 adult dogs and build a new kennel on his property to house some of them. The board said it will check back in six months to make sure the breeder is complying with the rest of the special use conditions.

"We look at land use," said county Code Enforcement Director Larry Harrell. "The care of the animals, as far as we're concerned, that's up to the Humane Society and the state and the federal."

"We, of course, probably would have requested a fewer number of dogs and maybe an inspection time table set by the county in some way," said Durcinka. "But as far as what it is, we are happy with what's happened."

Sloat said he and his client were basically happy, too.

"I think the board realizes the sincerity of our client's interest with regard to raising dogs," he said.

But there is one thing Sloat didn't tell the board, and WSBT had to find out on our own.

Where Do the Puppies Go?

Our under cover cameras were there when humane officers confronted the breeder last November about where the dogs are sold.

WSBT discovered that same Elkhart County breeder does business with Pat's Pets — the pet store inside UP Mall in Mishawaka.

In a recent hidden camera conversation with the store manager, he confirmed the store does do business with that breeder.

"[I] probably [get] two or three different breeds [from him], once in a great while," said the manager of Pat's Pets.

That manager also told WSBT he only buys puppies from local breeders.

"All local," he said. "No sub standard breeders and they all have to follow protocol."

When asked if his suppliers have licenses to breed, the manager nodded 'yes,' and said most state and federal laws require them to be licensed through the USDA.

Any commercial dog breeder is supposed to have that USDA license. A commercial breeder is anyone who sells animals to pet stores, brokers or research facilities.

The Pat's Pets manager said 99 percent of the breeders he deals with are USDA licensed. He also said the Elkhart County breeder we asked about was licensed too.

That breeder has been supplying the pet store since at least last November. He only applied for a USDA license within the last few months.

According to a document provided by Sloat, his attorney, the USDA inspected and granted the license January 20 — meaning the pet store did business with the breeder before the USDA certification.

When WSBT asked Sloat about his client's affiliation with Pat's Pets in UP Mall, he said it was confidential information.

We asked again if there were any relationships with the pet store.

"That's confidential information," he replied.

But Sloat did say his client's operation is not a puppy mill.

"We don't want to be called a puppy mill. I'm offended by anybody saying it's a puppy mill and I'm not debating the issue," he said.

But when WSBT asked the Pat's Pets manager if any of their puppies come from puppy mills, he gave a vague answer.

"That's an undefined thing," said the manager. "But they're not from sub standard breeders. They have to be up to our standards. I mean you might consider it a puppy mill, someone else might not. You never know."

WSBT left three phone messages for the store manager and even stopped by last Friday to get a response, but he never returned our phone calls.

His employees said they did not have a comment.

Later This Week

Tuesday – An exclusive look inside a local breeding operation with more than 200 adult dogs, and why the breeders are worried about the so-called “puppy mill bill” now in the Indiana Senate.

WSBT’s Kelli Cheatham and an Indiana humane officer will answer questions about so-called "puppy mills" and the WSBT investigation into some local breeders. Join the chat at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Wednesday – Where humane officers suggest you should buy a dog to avoid supporting puppy mills.