citation_inspection: 23

A Basenji-mix dog named Hudson, ID# 982000362183995, was noted by the APHIS AC VMO to be holding his left hind foot up while in his primary enclosure. The dog was removed from the enclosure for examination and the left hind foot was found to be swollen and pink when compared to the right hind foot. The dog would bear weight on the foot but frequently held it up in the air and seemed tender when the foot was touched. No one had noted this problem before the APHIS AC VMO had identified the problem. The slatted floor in the primary enclosure had gaps that were wide enough to allow the toes of this dog and another adjacent Boston terrier dog's toes to pass down into the gaps, posing a risk of injury to the toes and feet. The facility does have rubber mats that can be placed in the primary enclosures to protect the dog's feet but had not put mats in these two enclosures. Hudson's left hind foot appears to have been injured by the gaps in the slatted floor. Primary enclosures must be constructed and maintained so that they:have floors that are constructed in a manner that protects the dogs' and cats' feet and legs from injury, and that, if of mesh or slatted construction, do not allow the dogs' and cats' feet to pass through any openings in the floor. To be corrected by 9/16/2014.