The Missouri Attorney General on behalf of the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) recently sought legal action against Marlisa McAlmond d/b/a Cedar Ridge Australians. The Attorney General alleges that Cedar Ridge has failed to provide adequate veterinary care to its animals, failed to provide adequate housing, and failed to provide the animals with adequate health and husbandry measures. Cedar Ridge has also been cited for unsanitary living conditions and on several occasions cited for not providing drinking water for its animals.
In her defense, Marlisa McAlmond provided statements from her veterinarian, Ann Nichols DVM, aka Ann Nichols Dye, from the Missouri Cat & Cow Veterinary Clinic in Koshkonong, Missouri.
McAlmond Exhibits
Among the McAlmond Exhibits is a statement from Dr. Nichols defending the number of thin dogs on the premises by contending that “since the early fall of 2019, this kennel experienced problems getting delivery of high energy sport mix dog food” and that “the dogs had to adapt to different brands of dog food.” Yet, Dr. Nichols admits that she has been the attending veterinarian at Cedar Ridge for the past five years and Cedar Ridge has been cited for thin dogs since 2016. Dr. Nichols even proclaimed the kennel to be “impressive” since she considered the number of dogs that were thin to be a small percentage of total dogs on the premises. Dr. Nichols comments that “At one of the last state inspector visits, fourteen dogs were cited as being underweight. With puppies and adults both counted on that day and numbering over 300, this seems like a low percentage for this size population.”
Additional Statements of Ann Nichols, DVM