Blaring music drowned out the barking, but there was no masking the neglect inside the sweltering Riverside County garage. Jamie Abruzzo, a Missouri middle school teacher who picked up a summer job trucking puppies around the country, was overcome by anger as he took in the filth and feces that surrounded him. Outside, the temperature neared triple digits.
did not respond to questions about whether Kruse disputed its findings. Nearly all of the puppies coming into California from Kruse's compound had one thing in common — The Times found no record of the people and companies listed as their destination. But phone numbers and dog microchip numbers on those records, as well as court documents and interviews with buyers, led The Times to a prolific California importer, Monique Matthews.
licensing requirements, 31 states have their own laws regulating commercial breeders, according to a 2023 report by the Animal Legal & Historical Center at the Michigan State University College of Law. They vary widely but generally require a breeder to be licensed and inspected. In California, breeders or resellers are required to obtain permits and pay taxes on the sales of dogs.
inspectors brought a state trooper to site visits out of concern for their safety, according to written declarations of records show he has an arrangement with the former employee, Brian Lichirie. Kruse gave a piece of his sprawling farm, including whelping sheds, to Lichirie, with Lichirie later using the annexed property to obtain his own