Unleashed Pet Rescue and Adoption in Mission failed a state inspection last month.
This comes more than six months after the Kansas Department of Agriculture revoked the Mission animal shelter’s license — a move that started with a failed inspection in October 2022. Unleashed appealed the revocation order and is allowed to continue operations until the appeal process is complete.
A complaint about overcrowding concerns — which were substantiated on Sept. 28 — prompted the inspection. The animal shelter’s attorney says that inspection was a “complete fraud.”
The state Office of Administrative Hearings, which is the entity responsible for hosting a hearing for Unleashed, told the Post no hearing has been scheduled for the animal shelter at this time.
What the September inspection found
On Sept. 28, Unleashed failed to properly kennel five dogs of the 54 in its care. Animals must be separated by gender and by whether they are “intact,” meaning the animals have not been spayed or neutered.
The inspection report shows the shelter had three Australian Shepherds, two “intact” males and one “unaltered” female, in one kennel. In a different kennel, there was an “unaltered” female toy Australian Shepherd and an “intact” male Bischon.
Unleashed staff fixed the inadequate kennel situation during the inspection, according to the inspection report.
The inspection found a cockroach crawling on the floor, which was “squashed” by the “licensee” before an inspector was able to take a photo of it.
The report does not specify who the licensee is, but Danielle Reno is the president of Unleashed Pet Rescue and Adoption.
A piece of feces was also found “on the asphalt in the outdoor play yard,” according to the report. Reno told the inspectors that staff does not clean the outdoor play yard “because they do not use this play yard for anything.”
Additionally, the inspection found a 4-year-old male Cavalier King Charles in foster care without documentation that the dog had been neutered. This violates a regulation stating all animals older than six months need to be spayed or neutered before being placed in foster care.
Below is a full version of the report, obtained by the Post through an open records request.
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Open in new tab Unleashed’s attorney calls September inspection ‘complete fraud’
- Court Kennedy, the attorney representing Unleashed, told the Post via email that the “September inspection … was a complete fraud.”
- Kennedy said the shelter’s statement to Fox 4 “says about all we have to say about that inspection.”
- “The inspector is clearly retaliating against my client by making up violations where none exist,” Kennedy said.
Is there an upcoming hearing related to this?
- The Office of Administrative Hearings, which conducts proceedings for state agencies, including the state agriculture department, told the Post on Tuesday that no hearing is scheduled for Unleashed yet. However, some prehearings have already taken place.
- Kennedy representing Unleashed told the Post via email that there is a prehearing scheduled for Nov. 17. However, he said there is no hearing date scheduled yet.
- The prehearing, Kennedy said, will “determine if the case is ready for trial, which will be held at a later date.”
Go deeper: Mission won’t send animals to Unleashed shelter anymore
