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Swafford at it again ...


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I was browsing Puppyfind ... and noticed a familiar sort of listing.

 

Just the puppy's name. "Freckles M1" <--- I recognized the style.

 

The breeder information:

 

Alice Andersen

Member Since: January 6th, 2010

Location: Lafayette, TN, United States

Telephone: 615-630-8561

 

The ad says these particular pups worth $200 and then says: "50 more with papers BLACKS 250 EA, LILAC MERLES,

GIRLS 350 AND BLUE MERLES BOYS 300 EA DEPOSIT OF $150 WILL HOLD! BOTH PARENTS HAVE TWO BLUE EYES COMPARE WITH HIGHER PRICED PUPS, PEDIGREE IS ALSO AVAILABLE YOUR PUP WILL BE THE TALK OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAVE A BLESSED LORDS DAY CKC Registered"

 

Pretty familiar, no?

 

If that wasn't enough, I clicked to see all listings by that breeder and found 19 PUPPIES.

 

All pretty circumstantial, eh? That's what I thought. Even though the photos are taken in a pretty familiar style also.

 

So I googled the phone number.

 

Came up with a link to a Craigslist listing. Here is the text, because I'm sure the ad will be deleted at some point.

 

1999 Dodge Caravan - $1800 (Portland)

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 2010-08-20, 12:35AM CDT

Reply to: sale-etaw6-1908782360@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Automatic. Good tires. Avg 26 mpg. Professionally rebuilt transmission. Please contact Richard, 615-325-9144 or 615-630-8561

 

 

•Location: Portland

•it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

 

(photos intentionally omitted.)

 

So you google the other number listed and this is what you find:

 

Phonebook results for 615-325-9144

R Swafford (615) 325-9144 Portland, TN 37148-0000

Richard Swafford (615) 325-9144 243 N Centerpoint Rd, Portland, TN 37148-4864

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Hello everyone,

 

In the PuppyFinder listings, there is an adult female listed. In her listing, it says:

 

..."Jess is a beautiful pricked earred

black and white medium coat female imported from

the UK. She has two litters of awesome pups by our

friend's Imported Ben, son of World Champion

##Bob"...

 

Geee...what a surprise that Ben belongs to Mary Ann Harrison.

 

Regards to all,

nancy

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Ugh. Although I am not surprised, I am really aggravated to learn this news.

 

After my initial euphoria over his bust, I was extremely disappointed with several things about how the Swafford situation was handled. One of those was the light sentence he received and the fact that he was allowed a handful of "personal dogs" back (I want to say 4, but don't quote me--I'd have to check sources). According to an employee I talked with quite a bit at one of the animal controls holding the seized dogs (when I was evaluating the dogs for rescues), Swafford was allowed to pick up those personal dogs directly from the facility. The facility had no s/n clinic, so I drew my own conclusions about what that meant.

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Any chance you might pass this information on to WKRN or other media that covered the story last fall, Jodi? Something along the lines of "Despite animal cruelty charges, puppy miller at it again?"

 

Some of the comments posted to the WKRN story were so vivid and sad. Jodi's internet searches didn't require privacy invasion, court orders, high technology equipment, or posses of policemen and AC folk. Just someone to be interested, clever, and a bit persistent. The kind of things I wish our taxes paid our public servants to be.

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Jan,

 

Here's the email I sent to all of the reporters listed HERE. Let me know if there's somewhere else I should send this. I'm happy to forward it.

 

Jodi

 

 

*************

 

SUBJECT: FOLLOW-UP ON PUPPYMILL STORY

 

Good morning, everyone.

 

Last year, WKRN did a story on Richard Swafford, a puppymill in Portland, Tennessee.

 

ARTICLE

 

Unfortunately, despite animal cruelty charges, it seems Mr. Swafford is back to breeding Border Collies and selling them on Puppyfind. I've posted the details of my findings on the Border Collie Boards found here: LINK

 

The stories from the people who rescued some of the dogs from the last go-round with Mr. Swafford are enough to make anyone cry. I am happy to pass this information along to everyone and anyone I can in order to get some help for these dogs.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

Thank you.

(name & contact information)

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My guess is Richard has covered any "connection" to the folks advertising puppies and I'd bet his "name" is not on any paperwork having to do with any breeding or puppies............that would be part of his past behaviour also......he isn't going to change his spots and will continue to just do as he always has, with few if any penalties..........I'm sure he was back in business before the dogs that were taken from him had made it to safety. I'm not sure how he can truly be stopped.......He should certainly not be allowed to own or have possesion of any animals............but chances of that are slim to none and slim just left town. :rolleyes:

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Jodi, you should send this info to the Sumner County ACO, Sumner County Sheriff's office, and the Sumner County District Attorny. Hopefully, someone will investigate this. He is violating his court order.

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The ad says these particular pups worth $200 and then says: <snip> CKC Registered

 

I wonder what registry CKC was willing to recognize to register these pups. And aren't they supposed to be CBCA registered? Or does the "one registry" law only apply to Canadian resident breeders? Or has he been dual-registering in Canada all along?

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Megan, CKC=Continental Kennel Club. A registry that means absolutely nothing, I believe it even "registers" mixed breeds, like Goldendoodles and such. So, that way people have "papers" to go with their BYB, puppymill dogs. :rolleyes::D

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Oh, thanks, I was thinking Canadian Kennel Club.

 

I passed this info along to parties. Our dogs although great dogs were in pitiful condition and as you saw me post recently, one dog was so damaged that it took almost a year for her to be ready to move to an experienced person. She is a mess still. luckily she found a person who was willing to devote the time necessary to rehabilitate her fully.

 

Angela Jones can tell you that a year ago gypsy was a total mess mentally

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Any chance you might pass this information on to WKRN or other media that covered the story last fall, Jodi? Something along the lines of "Despite animal cruelty charges, puppy miller at it again?"

I PM'd Jodi before I came to work this morning, but I might as well let other folks know, too, that I emailed WSMV, a Nashville TV station that covered the bust last year with a link to one of its stories and a link to Jodi's blog. I'm in meetings most of the day (which really cuts into my dog time!) but wanted at least to get one contact out there ASAP.

 

I can also reach out to the Sumner Co. authorities when I get home tonight. I hope they will be able to follow up on the situation soon.

 

In the WKRN report, RS says "I just wanted to give back to Border Collies".

This is actually one of the things I find particularly unsettling about Swafford: I think he really believes he is a friend to border collies. How his brain can allow him to entertain that thought is beyond my comprehension, but he seems quite convinced of it.

 

ETA: For anyone who is new or who needs a visual reminder of just how Swafford "gave back to Border Collies," here is a thread I started last Sept. for fifteen of the dogs he surrendered after the initial bust, dogs who arrived at my local humane society a couple of days later. They were fortunate enough all to be rescued (many by people on this board, who mobilized quickly and generously on their behalf): Swafford's surrendered dogs at BGWCHS.

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All this just makes me sick - that it's all happening again.... :rolleyes: When we got the rescues dogs from Swafford's, it took months and months and months before we could even think about placing them in new homes. The dogs where totally clueless about a "normal" dog's life.

 

Sheryl, I understand what you are saying about the dogs being messed up and in pitiful condition for sure.

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We still have a Swafford dog in rescue. She has made a lot of progress, especially lately, but she will always be a dog with "issues." She is available for adoption, but project dogs are not usually what folks are looking for in an adopted dog. So, she gets overlooked time and time again.

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We still have a Swafford dog in rescue. She has made a lot of progress, especially lately, but she will always be a dog with "issues." She is available for adoption, but project dogs are not usually what folks are looking for in an adopted dog. So, she gets overlooked time and time again.

 

 

We had Grace Gwen Ginny and Gypsy.

 

Gwen and Ginny were mother and daughter come to find out and they must have been dogs he aquired somewhere as they were totally acclimated to home life and had yet to be damaged by their confinement although you can see their terrible coats.

Gwen went alone due to her borderline dog agression. Luckly for her she cleaned up nicely.

 

Grace and Ginny went to a home together and even months later it was touch and go that Grace would be returned she developed 2 new0 phobia's as soon as the woman thought she worked through the last one.

 

The last Email on Gypsy I had they said she was becoming curious about them. That she would frequently go into the room to check them out and then retreat back to her spot. They said it had progressed to periods of lying in the same room but, not near.

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I wrote to about ten people at the first place mentioned (see my earlier post with the email), and I've written to two people at the Sheriff's office, including the Sheriff himself. I have not gotten anything in return as of yet, but I did provide both places with the link to this thread.

 

If anyone has anything they would like to tell the authorities about Swafford, this dogs, rescue dogs you may have, your experience buying a dog from him, whatever ... please ... add it to this thread so we have it all in one place and I can continue sending this link out.

 

Thanks.

Jodi

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Perhaps this is already common knowledge. But tonight I discovered that the AKC recently suspended Swafford for 10 years and fined him $2,000 for violating its Cruelty Conviction Policy: see the top of the second page of this PDF of the May 2010 AKC Gazette.

 

Thanks, Jodi, for getting the word out. For any new folks who may be reading this thread, I'll mention again that I twice visited Swafford's operation--most recently in Nov. 2008, to collect Ody from Swafford's "rescue." At that time, Ody was simultaneously listed (with the same photo, no less) on Swafford's breeding site as one of his stud dogs and on his "rescue" site as a dog in need of a home. I documented Ody's quite horrible physical condition with photos and vet records. When it became obvious that he could not be successfully rehabilitated to move on to another home, I decided to adopt him, and he's lying at my feet as I type this.

 

I also evaluated 15 surrendered Swafford dogs who were transferred to BGWCHS for various rescues in Sept. 2009. And I evaluated nearly 20 (I'd have to check my notes for the exact number) of the seized Swafford dogs held at the Gallatin, TN, Rabies Control shelter for other rescues in Oct. 2009. I would be happy to discuss those experiences with anyone who is curious about the condition of the dogs.

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