By JILL ZEMAN BLEED
Officials seized nearly 100 dogs, six cats and two guinea pigs from several trailers on a rural Johnson County property Tuesday, where officials said animals were "cash crops" in a puppy mill operation.
Sheriff Jimmy Dorney said a search warrant was executed Tuesday at the home outside Lamar, about 10 miles southwest of Clarksville, after the department received a complaint.
"They weren't pets. We believe at this time that these dogs were being used as breeder dogs," Dorney said. "It was like a puppy mill."
The sheriff said two women lived at the property, but he did not release their names because they had not been arrested or charged. He said the seizure of animals continued Tuesday afternoon and that officials don't yet know how many dogs were being kept on the property.
"It's still early in the investigation. We don't have a whole lot of answers yet," Dorney said. "We're working on trying to get the dogs out of there, first thing, get all the evidence logged. Our main concern is for the safety of the animals."
The Humane Society of the United States assisted in confiscating the animals. The dogs including small breeds, like Chihuahuas and Shih Tzus, the Humane Society said.
"These dogs were being kept not as beloved pets, but as cash crops _ churning out litter after litter of puppies for the profit of the property owner," Scotlund Haisley, the Humane Society's senior director of emergency services, said in a statement. "The animals on this property were in dire need of help _ one dog was so matted that we had to cut him out of his cage.".." More
