Shirley R. Murray / William Hilliard - Bistol, Virginia

Jun 30, 2010: WANTED MAN FOUND IN DOG ABUSE CASE

Police had been looking for William Joseph Benjamin Hilliard, 74, following the discovery of 46 animals at a home on Lewis Street in Bristol, Virginia.

They had already charged on summonses 62-year-old Shirley R. Murray with 46 counts of failure to provide adequate care for the animals that were seized from the residence.

Officers located Hilliard earlier today at the Bristol Branch of Highlands Fellowship on Lee Highway. He was apparently discharged from the hospital yesterday, where he was taken after he became ill during the event that unfolded on Friday, but could not return to the home because it was deemed unfit for occupancy.

Police were able to locate him today because of a call from a person who recognized him and had heard through the news media that we were looking for him. It is not clear as to where Hilliard is actually staying right now, and the police department has offered to provide him assistance in finding a place to stay, but he insists that he has relatives in the area with whom he can stay..." More

Jun 29, 2010: TWO PEOPLE FACE 46 CHARGES IN DOG ABUSE CASE

After conferring with the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, Bristol, VA Animal Control Officer Deena Bouton has placed charges in the dog case from Lewis Street that was reported on Friday, June 25.

Shirley R. Murray, 62, was charged today with 46 counts of failure to provide adequate care for the animals that were seized from the residence.

William Joseph Benjamin Hilliard, 74, will also face the same 46 charges as soon as he is located. After the dogs were seized from the home on Lewis Street on Friday, Murray and Hilliard were not allowed to return because the house was deemed unfit for occupancy..." More

Jun 25, 2010: 50 dogs seized from Bristol, Virginia home

Authorities in Bristol, Virginia, say about 50 dogs have been seized from a house where animals were bred.

Investigators said the house Friday morning was covered in urine and feces. No one was immediately arrested.

Authorities said a couple who live in the house breed dogs and sell them out of a truck throughout the city.

According to the Bristol Herald Courier, the house was declared unfit for human or animal occupancy.

The dogs were taken to the pound at Jones Animal Hospital..." More

Final count of dogs rescued is 108

The Missouri Humane Society puts the final count for dogs rescued from a puppy mill in rural Miller County at 108.

Police have not released any information about who was running the breeding facility in Tuscumbia.

No one has been arrested nor charged.

Rescuers said the dogs were covered in feces and lived in dirty, overcrowded pens that lacked ventilation.

The Humane Society said the breeder is licensed by the USDA and had been warned to improve conditions in the past eight months.

More than 100 small-breed dogs have been removed from a central-Missouri breeding facility, where rescuers said the animals were living in filthy conditions.

The Humane Society of Missouri, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Miller County Sheriff's Department removed the dogs on Monday. The dogs were taken to the Humane Society headquarters in St. Louis for care.

Rescuers said the dogs lacked adequate veterinary care, were covered in feces and lived in dirty, overcrowded pens that lacked ventilation.

The breeds included poodles, beagles, and other smaller breeds..." More

No arrests were made. The Humane Society said the breeder is licensed by the state and the USDA, but has been warned over the past eight months to improve conditions.

Louanne Koval - New Jersey

Mar 10, 2010: 88 Dogs Rescued from "Hoarder's" NJ Farm

By VINCE LATTANZIO

SPCA calls farm owner a "breeder turned hoarder"

The New Jersey SPCA swooped in to rescue almost 100 dogs from a Salem County farm this weekend.

Animal control officials took 88 dogs from a farm along the 400 block of Monroeville Road in Upper Pittsgrove Township, N.J. Saturday, NJSPCA officials said.

Many of the canines, which range in age from a few months to 11 years old, are infested with parasites and have skin and dental issues, officials said.

"They were very obviously living in very poor sanitary conditions," said Bev Greco of the Cumberland County SPCA. Her organization and the Gloucester County SPCA helped with the raid.

They were living in confined quarters with mass population," Greco said. She also says many of the dogs had urine burns, fecal matter embedded in their fur and some may have never seen sunlight.

The farm's owner, Louanne Koval, 73, has faced animal cruelty charges before, officials said. She was also a puppy breeder.

"This is a hoarder who does it for profit," Greco said.

The Humane Society of the U.S. had been investigating Koval's farm for about a month and have been trying to get Koval to clean up the living quarters, officials say.

They chose to confiscate the animals after the persuasions failed. Farm animals including an emu, buffalo and chickens are still in the woman's care. Attempts to contact Koval for comment were unsuccessful..." More & video

58 dogs removed from dilapidated house

LaReeca Rucker

Nearly 60 dogs have been removed from the home of a Holmes County woman who once was a breeder but fell on hard times and couldn't feed or properly care for the animals.

The former nurse, who is now disabled, was living in a dilapidated home with 58 dogs. Most were wire-haired terriers.

"She loved the dogs so much and didn't want to give them to someone who wouldn't take care of them," said Doll Stanley, director of investigations for the Mid-South office of In Defense of Animals. "The whole north side of her house had fallen off, but she was bound to her house because she didn't know what to do with the dogs."

With no way to continue financially supporting the animals, the woman called Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, which alerted In Defense of Animals.

Stanley and Dr. Walter Roberts, a Lexington veterinarian, evaluated the situation in January, helped remove the first 19 dogs, and provided urgent care for the animals.

Roberts said he didn't want to release the name of the woman because she is elderly and lives alone.

"She gave up all she had for these animals, and she went without," he said. "One of the reasons she acquired some of the mixed-breed dogs is because people would drop them off in the neighborhood and they would come to her house."

The woman soon will move into a habitable home and keep one terrier, Natasha, who will be spayed.

"That this woman has lived in dire conditions suffering a disabled back, and begged for food for her animals, is a tribute to her true commitment to them," Stanley said. "She isn't a collector who acquires animals she can't help.

"Though she falls under the 'hoarder' category for allowing the dogs to multiply, I'm humbled by her will to stand by them and ask for help."

In Defense of Animals' Project Hope sanctuary near Grenada and Mississippi Spay & Neuter are teaming to spay and neuter the dogs that were released to In Defense of Animals. MS SPAN spayed 20 Friday at their "Big Fix" rig in Pearl.

On Tuesday, Project Hope will take many of the dogs to Every Creature Counts in Denver to place the dogs for adoption. ECC will show the dogs during an upcoming PetSmart Charities "Adopt-a-thon."

"The reason they are going to Colorado is because our sanctuary is filled to capacity," Stanley said. "We know they will get homes in Colorado. In Mississippi, we have too many dogs and cats. They will never get homes here."

Stanley said this single case has cost In Defense of Animals $8,100...." More

“Pedigree Dogs Exposed” gets first U.S. airing

Watch the full documentary here

“Pedigree Dogs Exposed, ” the controversial BBC documentary that shed some much needed light on purebred breeding practices and the horrors they have produced, will get its first airing in the U.S. tonight (Dec. 10).

Probably the single most important piece of dog reporting in the past decade, the documentary led to the BBC dropping its coverage of Crufts, the UK’s equivalent of the Westminster Dog Show.

The documentary looks at how many breeds have had their physical appearance so exaggerated they’re unrecognizable from a century ago, and it examines some of the breed-specific health problems that have resulted from breeders emphasizing looks over health when breeding dogs for shows.

The show, which led to some changes in Kennel Club and breeder policies and practices, airs at 8 p.m. tonight on BBC America.

The documentary revealed that dogs suffering from genetic illness are not prevented from competing in dog shows and have gone on to win “best in breed”, despite their poor health. It says physical traits required by the Kennel Club’s breed standards in the U.K., such as short faces, wrinkling, screw-tails and dwarfism, have led to inherent health problems.

This excerpt from the program shows a prize-winning cavalier King Charles spaniel suffering from syringomyelia, a condition which occurs when a dog’s skull is too small for its brain.
The documentary looks at other problems that have resulted from mating dogs who are close relatives, all for the purposes of accentuating certain physical features deemed desirable by the dog show crowd — boxers suffering from epilepsy, pugs with breathing problems and bulldogs who are unable to mate or give birth unassisted because their heads are so big.

While picked up here and there by the U.S. media, the story of shaping purebred dogs to fit arbitrary and human standards of beauty — despite the health ramifications – remains best told by the BBC documentary. By all means, watch it.

“Pedigree Dogs Exposed” deemed mostly fair

Ofcom — the UK’s equivalent to our FCC — has ruled that the controversial BBC documentary “Pedigree Dogs Exposed” was mostly fair, but didn’t give Kennel Club officials a chance to fully respond to all of the allegations it made.

“Pedigree Dogs Exposed,” which is receiving its first U.S. airing tonight, alleged that events such as the Crufts dog show awarded top prizes to unhealthy and inbred animals and encouraged breeders to place appearance above health concerns.

The Ofcom ruling was in response to complaints by the Kennel Club, according to The Guardian.

Ofcom said that the way the film was edited was fair and that the Kennel Club was not, as it claimed, deceived about its purpose.” However, it added, the Kennel Club was “not given a proper opportunity to respond to an allegation about eugenics and a comparison with Hitler and the Nazi Party, or an allegation that it covered up the nature of an operation carried out on a Crufts Best in Show winner”.

The Kennel Club made complaints about the program in five areas. Ofcom — here’s the full ruling — rejected complaints in four of these areas stating that there was “no unfairness.”
Only the Kennel Club’s fifth complaint was deemed somewhat valid. The Kennel Club said it was not given an appropriate opportunity to respond to 15 specific allegations, and Ofcom agreed that was in the case for four of the 15.

In one of those, Jeff Sampson, the Kennel Club’s senior scientific adviser and spokesman, “was not given the chance to show how seriously he took the health problems confronting pedigree dogs,” Ofcom said.

The BBC said it stood by the program. “While we note Ofcom’s findings regarding some aspects of Pedigree Dogs Exposed, we stand firmly by the programme, which was clearly in the public interest, and we stand firmly by its conclusions,” said a spokesman for the BBC.

“The broadcast has accelerated unprecedented reform in the way pedigree dogs are bred, including new limits on inbreeding, changes to the written standards of 78 breeds of dog and a new code of ethics which prohibits the culling of puppies for cosmetic reasons,” he added.

Thank you to Ohmidog for these stories

Holiday dog abandon woman jailed

A dog breeder who abandoned 99 St Bernards to go on holiday has been jailed for 18 weeks for animal cruelty.
Wellingborough magistrates heard 16 dogs have died or been put down since they were found at Wardana Kennels, Brigstock, Northants, last November.

The dogs were found covered in faeces and urine and without food or water.

Mary Collis, 51, admitted seven counts of causing unnecessary suffering to 85 dogs and failing to meet the needs of 14 dogs at an earlier hearing.

The RSPCA was contacted by concerned members of the public after Collis had gone away to Tenerife with her partner.

'Suffering depression'
Inspectors found the St Bernards in poor health, many with matted fur and eye problems.
Collis, a trained veterinary nurse, originally denied the charges but later changed her plea.
Collis, now of Denby Lane, Wakefield, was also banned from keeping any animals for 10 years..." More & video

Woman denies cruelty to 99 dogs 29 Jul 09 Northamptonshire
Homes sought for 100 St Bernards 10 Apr 09 England

NY Screening: Nov 13 - Documentary: The Tiger Next Door

"The Tiger Next Door"

Margaret Mead Film Festival

Friday November 13 8pm

American Museum of Natural History

Advance Tickets RECOMMENDED

By phone 212-769-5200

Online tix on sale: here

The Tiger Next Door is a documentary film that tells the story of a man named Dennis Hill who has been breeding, and selling tigers from his backyard in Flat Rock, Indiana for over fifteen years. As Hill’s small town drama unfolds, a litany of news stories of tiger situations gone bad around the country suggest an animal welfare problem of much larger scope.

Tigers are simultaneously an occupation and an obsession for Dennis H. He claims to know exactly what they’re thinking by the look in their eyes. But now, after a surprise government inspection, he’s lost the license that allowed him to keep exotic animals, and the state of Indiana is threatening to shut him down. He has just five days to find alternate homes for all but three of his brood and to bring his facilities up to code – or else lose what he considers to be his life’s work.

As Dennis fights to hold on to his tigers over the days and months that follow, The Tiger Next Door follows him – exploring his motives, his past, and the curious, ethically-murky world he’s created in his backyard. At the same time, the film ranges far beyond Dennis’ animal compound, illuminating the connection between breeders like Dennis H, and the near-epidemic of wild animal keeping in the United States.

91 dogs, cat, bird seized from Coweta home By Alexis Stevens The Atlanta Journal-Constitution The more than 90 dogs rescued from crowded conditions

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The more than 90 dogs rescued from crowded conditions at a Coweta County residence are undergoing veterinary check-ups and grooming this weekend in hopes of being adopted to loving homes.

This 5- to 6-week-old puppy is one of 15 puppies in the group.

Atlanta Humane Society President Carl Leveridge said the Australian shepherd rescues taken from Sue Ann Kelly range in age from nursing puppies to seniors. Many may be available for adoption starting Sunday or Monday, he said.

Kelly was allowed to keep four of her dogs, surrendering 91 of the other shepherds, along with a cat and a bird, to authorities Thursday.

“She was unwilling to surrender some animals,” said Miguel Abi-Hassan with the Atlanta Humane Society. “Those animals are going to stay on the property, but are going to be sterilized.”

Kelly was cited for having too many animals on her property. But if she has the four dogs remaining at her home sterilized within the next 30 days, the citations will be dismissed, officials said.

One-year-old Australian shepherds check out their temporary home.

A neighbor on Millard Farmer Road, in a rural area outside of Newnan, tipped local animal control officials about Kelly’s dogs.

“When he got there, he discovered that there were many dogs,” said Patricia Palmer, Coweta County spokeswoman.

The animal control officer got the state Department of Agriculture involved. Kelly didn’t have a license to breed dogs, and didn’t have adequate room for that many pets, officials said. Some of the animals were living under Kelly’s home, Abi-Hassan said.

The Coweta animal shelter doesn’t have room for that many animals either. That’s where Abi-Hassan’s team got involved.

The Humane Emergency Action Response Team (H.E.A.R.T) transported the dogs to its facility on Howell Mill Road for medical treatment. Four or five of the dogs are in critical condition, Abi-Hassan said. At least 40 will need very basic care, including having their teeth checked and hair brushed.

“Most of these animals have never seen a leash,” Abi-Hassan said.

However, Leveridge said the dogs have sweet, mild temperaments. He also noted around 40 of the dogs are considered to be miniature Australian shepherds.

In a separate case, the Atlanta Humane Society’s H.E.A.R.T. team is also on its way to rescuing 27 small-breed dogs from a puppy mill in Walker County, he said Friday.

Those interested in giving a new home to the dogs should call 404-875-5331 or visit atlantahumane.org to see the available pets.

- Staff writer Katie Leslie contributed to this report.

Stuarts Draft dog seizure spurred by routine inspection

BY BRAD ZINN/STAFF

STUARTS DRAFT — The seizure of 97 dogs Friday from a Stuarts Draft breeder was prompted by a routine inspection of his kennel, according to a search warrant filed in Augusta County Circuit Court.

The warrant, though, is vague about the condition of the dogs, all of which were relinquished by breeder Kyle Brydge, who has not been criminally charged in the case.

State and county officials confiscated the dogs from Oak Leaf Kennel, located on China Clay Road. Debbie Caywood, director of the Augusta County Regional SPCA, would not comment on the health of the dogs because of a pending “court case.”

Caywood said the ownership rights of the dogs were signed away and that the SPCA, with the help of The Humane Society of the United States, has placed the animals in various shelters. Thirty-six of the dogs remain at the local SPCA and five are ready for adoption. The remaining 31 dogs, small-breed dogs, will be put up for adoption Wednesday, according to Caywood.

In 2007, Brydge told Augusta County officials that he wanted to increase his kennel’s capacity to 250 dogs. During questioning by the Board of Zoning Appeals, Brydge said his puppies were sold before being weaned and the adults usually were sold at six years of age when done breeding. At the time, Brydge said he did not sell the dogs to pet stores and instead used a broker because he did not have a United States Department of Agricultural license.

Brydge said the kennel sits on 17 acres and that the dogs were seen by a veterinarian two times per year. Another 60 dogs, he said, were being kept at a Staunton property. The board denied Brydge’s request and set his limit at 106 dogs.

The search warrant, filed Monday and written by an officer with Augusta County Animal Control, said Brydge’s dogs were “found in shape they were in with adequate water, food and veterinary care.”.." More

Animal Control Raids Timberville Home

By Ed Drantch

Rockingham County Animal Control officers confirm they seized more than 30 animals, ranging from cats and dogs to squirrels, from a home in Timberville.

Officers say they got the call Sunday night, but because there were so many animals and they didn't have the resources, they had to wait until Monday to take the animals.

The homeowner, who wished to remain anonymous, describes the inside of his home as pitiful and awful. He says he has never seen anything like it.

The homeowner called animal control on the hottest day of the year after he went to check on his rental property.

He knew there were animals inside, but he didn't expect to see the deplorable conditions that he says were nasty. He says the house is is badly damaged.

According to Rockingham County Animal Control Officer Charles Turner, he and one other animal control officer seized 33 animals from the home, ranging from dogs and cats to rats and squirrels.

Dogs were chained up outside with buckets full of water to drink and food scattered on the ground.

Inside the home, flies swarm around pens where dogs once were held. The homeowner says the renters breed German Shepherds.

The animals are now at the Rockingham County SPCA.

Charges are pending for the people who are renting the house. They have since left..." More

KAPSA RECEIVES SENTENCE ON ANIMAL CRUELTY CHARGE

By Nick Lough & KULR Staff

BILLINGS - A Ballantine woman will no longer be allowed to breed dogs and must seek mental health treatments after a judge sentenced her Tuesday on an animal cruelty charge.

As part of a plea deal, Linda Kapsa was sentence to serve 20 years in the Department of Health and Human services with all time suspended. She will spend no time in jail.

Judge Susan Watters also ordered that she keep no more than three spayed or neutered dogs as companions during that twenty years and a probation officer will be able to visit the property at anytime to check on the welfare of the animals.

Yellowstone Deputy County Attorney Ingrid Rosenquist says, "I think this is an appropriate sentence and actually and ironically it is eight months to the day since we did the initial seizure on December 11, 2008.”

Kapsa will also be able to keep several goats, chickens, horses, and cockateels. She was ordered to pay $120,000 dollars in restitution. A payment plan of $50 dollars every month for the next 20 years was set up.

More than 200 dogs have been under the care of the county since they were taken last December. A private rescue group is now helping those animals find new homes..." More & video

May 7, 2009: Kapsa may sue over dog details

By GREG TUTTLE

Linda Kapsa, the Ballantine dog breeder charged with aggravated animal cruelty, has threatened to file a lawsuit against Yellowstone County if officials don't provide her with information about the welfare of the dogs seized from her kennel.

In a letter dated May 1 and received by the county on Monday, Kapsa's attorney, Elizabeth Honaker, demands answers to 26 questions regarding the seizure and treatment of English shepherds and other animals seized in December from Kapsa's Shady Lane Kennels...

The letter asked the county to confirm that between 47 and 51 animals have died since they were seized and whether there were any dogs injured during the raids "by choke poles, whips, farming implements, dragging paws across the snow and ice, by a stun gun, and/or any other source in the county's control."...

Kapsa's criminal trial was originally scheduled to begin Monday, but it was delayed recently at the request of her court-appointed attorney. Deputy Public Defender Moira D'Alton said in a court brief that the delay was needed so a psychiatrist could complete his work to determine if Kapsa is competent to stand trial...

Most of the seized dogs are being held at the MetraPark grounds. Officials have estimated the cost of caring for them so far at more than $75,000.In court records, prosecutors allege authorities found about a dozen dead dogs at her kennel, and many others were malnourished and neglected. Kapsa has also been charged with four related misdemeanor charges...." More

Photo: BOB ZELLAR/Gazette Staff

Jan 29, 2009: Encourage legislators to take action against heartless pet hoarders

Montana, Great Falls Tribune - By CAROL BRADLEY

"...hoarders, people who somehow manage to collect hundreds of animals, house them in below-zero temperatures, ignore their wounds and broken bones, and give them food and water whenever they feel like it.... back in 2001, when an Alaskan couple driving into Montana were found with 179 cold and wet collies and 11 cats in the back of their semi.

Toole County officials courageously stepped forward and charged the couple with multiple counts of animal cruelty.

Their reward for doing the right thing: For six months Shelby residents had to operate "Camp Collie" at the fairgrounds (the dogs were moved to Great Falls for another three months before the owners were convicted and new homes could be found). Toole County spent more than $167,000, the Humane Society of the United States shelled out $250,000 and the American Working Collie Association spent tens of thousands more to care for this small army of dogs.

That was just the beginning. A couple of years later Cascade County spent more than $100,000 feeding and housing 138 dogs, 18 horses and 17 cats taken from the property of notorious hoarder Pam Polejewski. The discovery of 100 sled dogs in an old bus near Butte last year has cost the Humane Society $150,000. And last month, authorities seized 199 live dogs and two dozen dead ones from Linda Kapsa's Shady Lane Kennels near Billings.

They're being held at the county fairgrounds, unable to be adopted out until the case is resolved in court.

Here's the good news: Montana's Legislature is considering a bill that would give authorities new tools to fight these Hotel Hells.

For starters, the proposed law would recognize companion animal hoarding as a form of animal cruelty. And it would provide that, in addition to being fined, a convicted hoarder may be required to undergo a psychological evaluation and/or treatment.

That's because, even though hoarders lack the time, ability and means to provide minimal care for their animals, they are in complete denial. They defend their practices even as dead and dying animals lie strewn about their property.

Do we really want to sentence nutty old ladies to prison for having a houseful of cats? Of course not.

Montana's jails are too crowded as it is. But giving hoarders a suspended sentence would authorize officials to inspect their property to make certain they aren't cranking up operations again. That's the truly awful thing about these Hotel Hells. The minute nobody's looking, they're back in business. Hoarders have a recidivism rate of nearly 100 percent.

This marks the fourth time a hoarding bill has been introduced in Helena. Last time around, the House passed the bill by 68 votes, but it died in the Senate Judiciary Committee. This time it has broad-based support, not just among animal welfare supporters. Sheriffs and prosecutors who've had to grapple with hoarders' handiwork have signed on, too.

Still, let's not take any chances. Take a moment today to call the state Capitol at 406- 444-4800 and ask members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote yes on Senate Bill 221 with amendments..." More

Animals seized from unlicensed kennel near Waynesboro

HARRISBURG -- Dog wardens seized animals and closed down a Waynesboro kennel that was operating without a license.

Dog wardens and members of Washington Township Police on Wednesday removed all 29 live dogs and one dead dog from the premises.

Dog law charges against the owner, Donna Cook, are pending. Any charges for animal cruelty would be filed by police.

Cook, who lives at of 12293 Pen Mar Road, was cited in 2001 for cruelty and operating a kennel without a license.

Acting on information provided by a visitor to the kennel, dog wardens and police officers secured search warrants to investigate potential kennel and cruelty violations. The agents found dogs and other animals living in filthy conditions, including cages stacked four high and filled with feces, maggots and moldy food.

The dogs -- papillons, Yorkies and poodle mixes -- as well as several cats and birds, were immediately removed by the Antietam Humane Society of Waynesboro.

According to the state Department of Agriculture, the dogs were matted and dirty, and several appeared to have eye and ear infections. The animals will all be examined and receive veterinary care.

Jessie Smith, the state' s special deputy for dog law, said any kennel with more than 26 dogs per year must obtain a license and be inspected annually.

"Unlicensed kennels are difficult to regulate because they are often intentionally secretive about their operation," Smith said...." More