A couple in Anne Arundel County were accused of abusing dogs in their home under the guise of a kennel in Glen Burnie.
RELATED: Kennel owners charged with 40 counts of animal cruelty
Every county has different licenses to become a kennel or dog fancier.
In Anne Arundel County, if you have more than four dogs you have to get a license.
In the license application for a kennel, you have to prove the dogs will have a certain amount of space.
You have to have proof of a clean-living environment and plenty of food.
Olympian Kennels was run by Rebecca Wolfe and Cameron Whitaker Nelson, they were each charged with 40 counts of animal cruelty.
Before opening up their own shop at their home without a license, they worked at Premier Dog Training.
Jessica Breeding, the Operations and Boarding Manager at Premier said their punishments aren't enough.
“Every state is different and every county is different so that’s why I’m saying they could just go out tomorrow and move to a different county and start all over again,” said Breeding. “There has to be maybe some tracking you know. Like a car fax but for people that are training dogs. Yeah, and that would be simple.”
Kathryn Reister did some research before deciding where to take her Bernedoodle Hobie.
“A place that felt like home, somewhere where my dog wasn’t just one of a thousand other dogs,” said Reister.
The first kennel she went to just didn't feel right.
“They had like 7 fields with like 100 dogs in each field, It just became clear that my dog was just going to get thrown into one of those big fields and not really watched or monitored,” said Reister. “Here they make a point to evaluate how a dog plays, make sure he’s not up against other dogs that might be more aggressive.”
Reister decided to go with Premier Dog Training, and Breeding encourages others to do their research.
“If their hesitant to answer questions or won’t show you the kennel or take you on a tour I’d say that’s a red flag,” said Breeding. “A lot of places too they’ll take you on a tour and only show you one part of the kennel. I would ask to see everything, not just the place they want to show.”
If you're not running a kennel properly you can also face civil charges, that's aside from the criminal charges like animal neglect for violating kennel licenses in Anne Arundel County.
$50 for the first violations, $100 for the second, and $500 every time after that.
Breeding warns people to look into trainers too, because anyone can make a business card and charge as much as they want.
Most good trainers learn as an apprentice, and you don’t get a certificate or diploma for it.
