Following up on the article I wrote this month for HuffPost about the business model of “puppy mill” rescue and the business practices of the Colorado-based nonprofit National Mill Dog Rescue:
Theresa Strader, the founder and executive director of National Mill, has responded to Colorado’s State Board of Veterinary Medicine regarding a cease and desist order demanding that she stop what the state called the unlicensed practice of veterinary medicine.
Strader’s response, submitted through an attorney, denies the state’s allegations. The response also addresses a matter that Colorado authorities did not raise in the cease and desist letter: The response states that Strader is “the lawful owner of all the animals in her custody and at her facility.”
As is standard with a response of this nature, the Board of Veterinary Medicine has referred the case to Colorado’s Office of the Attorney General, where attorneys are now evaluating the case and deciding how to proceed.