Concerns raised over two unlicensed dog kennels in Whitewater Region

Concerns have been raised by many local residents about two unlicensed kennels in Renfrew County. By-laws to rezone the two properties to allow for a kennel were brought before Whitewater Region Township Council on January 18th, 2023. The properties in question are on Highway 17 in Cobden and Foresters Falls Road in Whitewater Region.

Animal welfare, living conditions, monitoring and accountability, noise, risk to health and safety and property value were some of the concerns that were raised from local residents. A petition received by council had 109 signatures encouraging council to not rezone the properties. There’s also an online petition to shut down the puppy mill with upwards of 2,400 signatures.

One local resident talked about the conditions of the puppy mill on Foresters Falls Road where she was offered a “single mom discount” for one of the dogs. The resident who also took the pictures that are circulating online said the conditions of the place were disgusting and the property owner bragged about how much each dog earned noting $27,000 or $35,000 per year was not enough.

Dave Alexander is a neighbour on Foresters Falls Road and talked about the noise from the unlicensed kennel which can be heard most times of the year with up to 20 dogs on site at any given time. Alexander also raised environmental concerns with questions as to how the dog excrement is being disposed.

Lisa Cundal says as an animal advocate she has tried to shut down the Hubert puppy mill for almost 20-years. Cundal says another puppy mill recently relocated from southern Ontario to Cobden to escape the scrutiny they were facing adding Whitewater Region is developing a reputation as “the place to be” for breeding with no consequences.

Tim Hubert who lives at the property on Foresters Falls Road says there’s a lot of mistruths adding a licensed vet comes to see the dogs once a month and they’ve had several inspections with no letters issued from PAWS, the Provincial Animal Welfare Services. Hubert says the dog bowls are washed and cleaned twice a day and notes the brown colour seen in the pictures is peat moss which absorbs the urine. The operator of the unlicensed kennel in Whitewater Region told council he learned artificial insemination to make mini-doodles.

Hubert also says his father applied for a kennel license 18-years-ago and was denied. Some residents in attendance questioned how the Township could allow this unlicensed kennel to continue to operate for all these years.

Other residents from Whitewater Region and Renfrew urged and begged council to update the by-laws to protect animals. James Hubert says he’s only been at the property on Highway 17 for two years now and has cleaned up tremendously. James says he is not against the licensing process and wants to work with everyone.

Whitewater Region CAO Ivan Burton says staff will come back to council with a recommendation, likely sometime in February, after reviewing all of the information presented.

(written by: Rudy Kadlec)