Dear Editor,
I am the owner and operator of B & C Kennels in Clare. We have been operating at this location for the past seven years.
We are a fully licensed facility that receives random visits by The Department of Agriculture along with the Dekalb Health Department and Animal Control. Our kennel has been found clean with healthy pups and no recommendations for improvement. These visits usually occur at least twice a year.
“Puppy Mill” is a degrading term for a substandard kennel. We exceed all minimums for space, housing, socialization, vetting and feed. We do not and will not ever place ourselves in the category of substandard.
When we started seven years ago, we did not anticipate the number of families that would find us and refer their friends and give us such high praise and recommendation. You can find thousands of comments on our Facebook page attesting to this.
We have simply outgrown our space.

We own property in Kings where one of our employees is now living and will be the overseer of the new kennel. Of course, we will be on hand daily as well.
Our plan is to put up a building that will house the pups for sale, a large obedience space, a grooming salon and retail supplies for dogs.
At this time in Clare, I breed four French Bulldog females, two Yorky females, one Chihuahua female and have two Schnauzer juveniles that I hope to breed in the future.
I have family members who own USDA licensed kennels with clean reports where the rest of our puppies come from. They breed mostly poodle mixes with a few other purebred breeds. All breeds we offer as a cooperative can be found on our website.
Once retired from breeding, our mothers and fathers are neutered or spayed and donated to a licensed rescue or shelter or sometimes sold as pets. We have recently formed a relationship with Circle of Change, a Rockford based group which has matched veterans with two of our dogs that we donated. They then provide training for the vet and dog to encourage the dog to be a type of “service” animal for the veteran, who may suffer from PTSD along with other issues.
We have been aware of several local radical groups in the area who are against our business. They are of the “rescue is the only way to go” mind. From what I can tell they believe that nobody ever should breed a puppy.
We believe there is a need for both of our services, but we also believe that rescues and shelters should be mandated to follow the same rules and regulations as a licensed kennel. At this time, in our state of Illinois, this is not the case. My family and I are working on legislation to see that rescues and shelters be held to the same standards as licensed kennels are.
We have put together a power point program on our business, how it is run and our goals and ideals.
On March 30, a public meeting will be held at the Ogle County Courthouse. I encourage anyone who is interested to attend and be educated on the true facts, not someone’s uneducated opinion.
Sincerely,
Christie Hardt
Owner, B & C Kennels