“As Attorney General, I will enforce the law as written, which includes holding accountable those who continue to violate state statute by putting Missouri animals in egregious situations,” said Attorney General Bailey. “I’m proud of this result, and my office will continue to use every tool at our disposal to uphold the standards for Missouri’s dog breeders as required by law.”
In the consent judgment, the breeder admitted that she failed to:
- employ a licensed veterinarian to administer the required medical care
- maintain individual health records on all covered animals
- provide a written program of adequate veterinary care
- provide continuous access to potable drinking water free from contaminants
- sanitize all water receptacles
- separate puppies from adult dogs, which likely resulted in wounds to the puppies
- keep clean facilities, which were found to have excessive accumulation of feces, hair, food waster, cobwebs, and dead flies
Under the consent judgment, Mincey cannot conduct any activity for which an animal care license is required for a minimum period of 8 years, at which point she must reapply; must refrain from all business of buying dogs and cats; and is subject to a maximum $10,000 fine. All remaining dogs have been rehomed.
The Attorney General’s Office previously obtained a judgment against the same dog breeder in March 2020, finding that Mincey violated the Animal Care Facilities Act and its regulation, which resulted in the imposition of $5,500 in fines and requirements to pass inspections before continuing as a licensed breeder. In early 2022, the Attorney General’s Office moved for contempt based on evidence that she continued to violate the law and not make her facility available for inspection, for which the court found Mincey in civil contempt and imposed additional fines.
In December 2022, the case for this latest consent judgment was filed based on evidence that she continued to provide inadequate care for her animals, based on an outbreak of canine parovirus that resulted in the preventable deaths of multiple dogs at her facility, as well as other documented care concerns.
Assistant Attorney General Ric Groeneman handled the case.