Donna Gates Echo Hills Ranchpuppyofmine.com Inhumane puppy mill Spokane Washington

We found a puppy we really liked online, and some family friends of ours were already heading to the same breeder to pick up a puppy for their family.  As our friends were standing there at Echo Hills Ranch with our puppy in hand I received a call from Donna saying the puppy had already been neutered and asking if that was ok.  I said it was.

On their way home our family friends noticed that there was a gaping open would around the puppy's testicular area.  When they got him home and handed him to me I saw the wound was actually quite severe.  He was also sick and vomiting and in very poor overall condition.  Within an hour we had the puppy in a local vet's office - a vet we know and trust.

A few hours later the vet called us and told us that the puppy had been "banded", like a sheep or goat and that the damage was quite severe and must have been very painful.  He had to scrape out the dead skin that had been accumulating for days.  Furthermore, they had missed his testicles entirely, so it was all for nothing.  He asked if we'd be willing to file animal abuse charges and told us he had documented everything he found in detail for us to use.

Banding is a cruel procedure used by puppy mills to neuter dogs in order to maximize profits by saving money on surgical procedures.  It doesn't work right on dogs because they don't have scrotums that hang down like sheep or goats.

When we called Donna she panicked and refused to give us her vet's name.  She then repeatedly demanded that we return the puppy.  Of course we did not return the puppy.  What followed from Donna was a series of increasingly ridiculous serues if explanations for what had happened to the puppy - each more unbelievable than the last.

Donna Gates is a monster who condones animal cruelty and runs a puppy mill with the help of her 10 adopted Hatian children.  I have no doubt the abuse will continue, but at least we saved one!

Stay away from Echo Hills Ranch!