60 dogs, 29 cats in unsanitary conditions
Hiawatha, IA (US)

Incident Date: Tuesday, Feb 8, 2011
County: Linn

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Jennifer Leslie Wood

Jennifer Leslie Wood owns an animal shelter and pet shop called The Puppy Playground, at 85 North Center Point Rd., No. 70, in Hiawatha. Just last week, police and a state inspector found 60 dogs and 29 cats in unsanitary conditions inside the strip mall business, officials said.

Inspector Stephanie Black found extreme crowding and inadequate ventilation that led to an "overwhelming urine smell."

"Sanitation especially lacking in grooming area, where strays are housed alongside animals of grooming clients," Black wrote in the report. "Tub area unclean. Sanitation very concerning. Electrical cord hazards."

Dustin Vande Hoef, spokesman for the Iowa Department of Agriculture, said Wood agreed this week to give up the animals. Wood told the inspector she would continue to operate Puppy Playground only as a pet grooming business, Vande Hoef said.

"We'll still work with her to make sure she does follow through," Vande Hoef said.

A sign on the door to the business Friday said it would be closed because Wood was sick.

Inspection report Puppy Playground

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