33 dogs seized from breeder
Source: thenews-messenger.com, Feb 8, 2010
Animal cruelty charges are expected against a township dog breeder after officials seized 33 dogs living in a filth of feces on the resident’s property Friday, authorities said.
Denny Hammond, Sandusky County humane officer, said he plans to file 35 misdemeanor charges against the resident this week in Sandusky County Court District 1 in Clyde. The maximum punishment for one count of animal cruelty is 90 days in jail and a $750 fine.
“They weren’t malnourished,” Hammond said. “It was feces and the urine they were wallowing in. That was very unsanitary for anyone.”
Five or six children at the rural Fangboner Road property also were moved to a neighbor’s home until the home can be cleaned up, said Deputy Eric Arquette of the Sandusky County sheriff’s office. Children’s Services and the Sandusky County Health Department have become involved and are expected to check the home Monday, according to Sandusky County sheriff’s reports.
Hammond executed a search warrant on the property Friday with Arquette’s help. Hammond also confiscated two exotic birds in addition to the dogs and puppies.
The dogs were mostly basset hounds and Pomeranians, and those breeds had the puppies, he said. There also was a St. Bernard and a Chihuahua, he said.
The animals were spread out in cages in the garage and in rooms of the house, he said.
“Their cages were pretty filthy,” he said. “The cage was too small for the St. Bernard.”
Hammond took the dogs to the Humane Society of Sandusky County. They may need foster homes while the court decides what to do with them, he said.
The exotic birds already have been placed in a foster home, he said.
Hammond said he sought the search warrant after he responded to a complaint of pigs running loose on the property. While he was there, he knocked on the door at the home and noticed a large number of dogs there, he said.
