41-A-0338
Larry and Patty Urbach

The Urbach’s operate a kennel near Frazee, MN that is quite disturbing to visit especially considering the extreme winter weather conditions. Most of the dogs are kept in a barn formerly used to house mink. I had visited their facilities on a number of occasions one of which undercover footage was obtained for Hard Copy. Accumulation of feces was a problem in the barn as well as outside pens housing dogs. Many of the enclosures in the barn appeared to be severely overcrowded. Inspection history for this facility are minimal and include reports while the licensee’s held a Class "B" license. The first pre-license inspection was conducted on October 4, 1995 and did not meet minimum standards. As with other inspections of Class "B" dealers the primary enclosures and conveyance were not inspected this time although they were on the subsequent inspection. It also appears that the mink barn was reported as an "indoor" facility as an "X" was marked on the inspection report next to those sections of the regulations. As I recall the floor of the building was dirt and as I understand the regulations a "sheltered" facility was more accurate. Curiously, an inspection report dated September 1, 1998 states that "Ground areas under wire floor pens in covered outside dog kennel has an excessive accumulation of feces." During my visits to the facility I never saw any covered outside kennels. Also note that the inventory has increased substantially since licensure.