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Sen. Roby Smith barked up the wrong tree defending Davenport dog kennel owner

on Tue, 10/26/2021 - 02:56   by news

by Kathie Obradovich, Iowa Capital Dispatch
October 25, 2021

State Sen. Roby Smith’s conduct in bullying Iowa Department of Agriculture staff on behalf of a constituent and raising the possibility of gun violence was beyond disturbing.

If you missed Clark Kauffman’s story in Iowa Capital Dispatch, you can read it here.

The constituent, Davenport kennel owner Robert Burns, couldn’t have been more pleased that penalties against his business for animal-welfare violations were reduced after Smith joined him in a two-hour phone call with top agency staff. And for good reason.

‘Like he was my lawyer:’ State Sen. Roby Smith intervened in Davenport animal-welfare case

on Thu, 10/21/2021 - 05:00   by news

by Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch
October 19, 2021

The owner of a Davenport dog kennel says state regulators scaled back their punishment against his business this summer after a state legislator intervened in the case on his behalf.

Earlier this summer, the Animal Playground boarding kennel in Davenport, run by Robert Burns, was visited by state inspectors working for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. At the time, the kennel was supposed to be shut down due to a license suspension triggered by a series of serious regulatory violations.

The kennel, however, was in full operation with 40 dogs milling about, inspectors reported.

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