Denying Aquatic Animals Water? Debbie Dolittle’s Slammed by Feds for Neglect of Basic Necessity

For Immediate Release:
September 4, 2025

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Tacoma, Wash. –

Following a PETA complaint, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cited Debbie Dolittle’s Indoor Petting Zoo for violations of federal animal welfare regulations for denying capybaras access to pools large enough for them to submerge and swim in and for housing animals in enclosures in dangerous states of disrepair. PETA points out that capybaras are aquatic mammals with webbed feet who in nature live out their entire lives in marshy, grassy areas bordering rivers and lakes, and spend a large portion of each day wading, swimming, and submerging themselves, and that they need water to prevent overheating, keep their skin healthy, and be happy. The capybaras confined at Debbie Dolittle’s were found to have noticeable hair loss, scabs, and skin irritation.

According to the just-released report, on July 17, a federal inspector found that the capybaras’ only indoor water access was a 150-gallon tub—which is not nearly large enough for these animals. A metal water trough provided outdoors was accessible only by a steep ramp, which was nearly impossible for the capybaras to use.

*A capybara named Baby with scabs, hair loss, and scaly, irritated skin, confined at Debbie Dolittle’s Indoor Petting Zoo. Photo: PETA.*

“Capybaras belong in the lush swamps and along the rainforest riverbanks of South America, not in a paved parking lot behind a seedy strip mall petting zoo,” says PETA Foundation Senior Director of Captive Wildlife Debbie Metzler. “PETA urges everyone to stay far away from roadside zoos like Debbie Dolittle’s, where animals are sentenced to lives of deprivation and misery.”

Across multiple changes in ownership, Debbie Dolittle’s roadside zoo has racked up a slew of citations for violations of federal animal welfare laws, including for a young anteater who died just three weeks after arriving at the facility; a baby sloth who died of “mishandling, neglect and ignorance of animal care”; a fox who fractured her leg so badly it had to be amputated; and multiple injuries to customers.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.