Inspections
Ten years of DATCP findings
Six Wisconsin DATCP inspections at Ridglan Farms from October 2016 through September 2025 — what each one found, in order. The same violations recur across multiple years.
October 26, 2016 · DATCP — Inspectors Benell & Becker
Routine dog-seller inspection
- Puppies' legs falling through wire mesh flooring.
- Stereotypic behaviors documented in enclosures.
- Coating worn off mesh in multiple buildings — exposing the metal underneath.
- Foot problems observed across the population.
November 15, 2018 · DATCP — Inspectors Carter & Becker
Routine inspection — flooring issue persisted from 2016
- Same wire-mesh-flooring issue from the 2016 inspection still present.
- Ridglan reported a new SOP was "being developed."
- No corrective action documented from the prior cycle.
July 6, 2022 · DATCP — Inspectors Ondercin & Price
Routine inspection — significant ventilation findings
- Ammonia odors caused nausea in the inspector during the visit.
- Approximately 30% of enclosures showed rust or worn coating on the wire.
- Inspector's throat and nostrils irritated for hours after leaving the facility.
- This inspection report was later quoted at length in Judge Lanford's January 9, 2025 order finding probable cause of felony cruelty.
June 6, 2024 · DATCP — case 99107 / 991707
NONCOMPLIANT — formal violation
- Daily body / mobility / behavior checks were not being performed as required.
- Ruptured interdigital cyst on Beagle ZKA-8 / FZA-8 went unnoticed by staff.
- Facility population at time of inspection: approximately 3,200 dogs.
- Staffing level: approximately 16 full-time-equivalent employees.
- This inspection generated the unattended-cyst count in the 8/11/2025 civil-forfeiture complaint.
September 16, 2024 · DATCP — follow-up inspection, report issued 9/23/2024
NONCOMPLIANT — second consecutive failed inspection
- Two dogs — FVC-O and FJA-9 — with untreated leg and muzzle wounds.
- Behavior and socialization deficiencies again flagged.
- These two dogs became the two untreated-wound counts in the 8/11/2025 civil-forfeiture complaint.
September 8, 2025 · DATCP — vet-license compliance follow-up
Found 150+ surgical records violating Van Domelen's March 11 stipulation
- Re-inspection to confirm Van Domelen's compliance with the conditions he accepted on 3/11/2025.
- Over 150 surgical records showed undelegated procedures by unlicensed staff continuing despite the stipulation.
- Findings forwarded to the Veterinary Examining Board.
- Triggered the 9/30/2025 summary-suspension order against Van Domelen's license.
The recurring patterns
- Wire-mesh flooring violations: continuously documented from 2016 through 2024 — 8+ years, multiple inspections, never resolved.
- Ventilation / ammonia: cited in 2022; not resolved by 2024.
- Daily health checks: failed in June 2024 (unattended cyst); failed again in September 2024 (untreated wounds).
- Stipulation compliance: Van Domelen accepted conditions in March 2025; six months later, 150+ surgical records were non-compliant.
How this links to the case
The June 2024 cyst case (ZKA-8 / FZA-8) and the September 2024 wound cases (FVC-O, FJA-9) became three of the 311 counts in the August 2025 civil-forfeiture complaint. The 308 cherry-eye counts in that same complaint reference procedures performed by unlicensed staff over the same general period — staff later named in the Carter affidavit attached to the VEB stipulation.
The full sequence of legal actions is on /legal. The violation categories and statute citations are on /facts.
On the 2024 population figure
The June 6, 2024 DATCP inspection recorded approximately 3,200 dogson the Ridglan premises. Campaign materials elsewhere on this site sometimes refer to “the estimated 2,000 dogs at Ridglan” — that estimate is older and reflects earlier campaign math from before the 2024 inspection. The two figures are not contradictory if some dogs were sold to research buyers (visible in /shipments) or otherwise transferred between June 2024 and the April 2026 rescue.