Janet Lynne Hollins - Dale City, Virginia

Nov 3, 2010: Pet rescue owner guilty of reduced charges

By AMANDA STEWART

Janet Hollins’ heart is in the right place, Prince William General District CourtJudge Peter W. Steketee said. But her actions in taking care of 77 animals in her Dale Citytownhouse were not right, he said.

Hollins, 52, was charged with 77 counts of animal cruelty, a class 1 misdemeanor, after animal control officers searched her house on Buffalo Court and seized 27 dogs and 50 cats.

On Oct. 29, the second day of Hollins’ trial, prosecutors amended the charges to class 4 misdemeanor charges of inadequate care of an animal by an owner.

Steketee found Hollins guilty of all 77 reduced charges.

For each charge, Steketee sentenced Hollins to a fine of $250, with $225 suspended.
She will have to pay a total of $1,925 in fines.

The judge also ordered Hollins to serve 10 years of probation. For the first 3 years, Hollins will be prohibited from owning pets..." More

Aug 9, 2010: Dale City woman ran foster home for pets

By AMANDA STEWART

Police say Janet Lynne Hollins had too many dogs and cats in her Dale City townhouse.

But, those who know Hollins, who operates Janet’s Rescues and Placements, said she was only trying to help the animals.

Police searched Hollins’ home, at 3522 Buffalo Court in Dale City, on Wednesday and seized 27 dogs and 50 cats. They also took seven boxes containing adoption papers, animal medical records and pet pictures, and a computer, according to court records.

Hollins was charged with 77 counts of animal cruelty.

She could not be reached for comment Monday..." More

NSPCA helps in hoarding situation

The Norfolk SPCA is transporting more than 40 animals from a Washington, NC hoarding situation. 25 small breed dogs will remain at the Norfolk SPCA for care and adoption, while six dogs and 13 cats will continue on to another local shelter.

Fifty-six dogs and cats were surrendered by an animal hoarder. If you're unfamiliar with animal hoarding, it's described by AnimalHoarding.com as: people who accumulate a large number of animals then fail to provide minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation and veterinary care; and fail to act on the deteriorating condition of the animals, the environment and their own health.." More

Over 50 animals removed from home in animal hoaridng incident

Several of the animals appeared unclean and malnourished, police said

By CHRIS PYBURN

A 33-year-old woman in Virginia has been charged with animal cruelty and being an unfit animal owner after police spent nearly 12 hours removing dirty and underfed animals from her home.

After neighbors' complaints of foul odors coming from Megan Barber's home in Mount Vernon, Fairfax County police officers got a search warrant and went in, protecting themselves with hazmat suits and self-contained breathing gear.

Over two dozen live cats, five dogs, a rabbit, three guinea pigs, a hamster and nine birds were removed from the home on Ramsgate Terrace, amidst cluttered conditions including animal feces and debris, police said.

They also took 28 dead animals out of the house.

According to county officials, the live animals' medical conditions ranged from poor to good, with most appearing unclean and malnourished.

Sources told News4 that Barber had come to the attention of police for a similar situation five years ago...." More

Dec 30, 2009: Over 50 animals removed from home in animal hoaridng incident

A woman has been charged with animal cruelty after police removed dozens of dead and living animals from her home Tuesday.

Police removed more than 50 animals - nearly half of them dead - from the home of 33-year-old Megan Barber on Ramsgate Terrace in Mount Vernon after neighbors called local authorities complaining about an odor coming from the house.

Twenty-eight dead animals were removed from the house. Over two dozen living cats, nine birds, five dogs, three guinea pigs, a hamster, and a rabbit were removed from a house police say was filled with debris, including animal feces.

Police say the conditions of the living animals ranged from poor to good, with most appearing unclean and malnourished. They were transported to local veterinarians after being removed from the home.

Barber will not be able to return to her home immediately as the house has been condemned..." More

Woman who had 56 cats gets year in jail

By BILL MCKELWAY

A judge yesterday described conditions in a home overrun with dozens of cats as the most grotesque he has seen in 25 years of judicial service.

Staring silently at a sheaf of pictures of the dwelling's interior, Chesterfield General District Judge Robert D. Laney blanched and told the home's occasional occupant that the pictures were worse than those he has viewed of German prison camps, homicide victims and lifeless teenage drivers.

Moments later, Laney sentenced Patti Wheeler, 52, also known as "Cookie," to a year in jail on multiple counts of animal cruelty. And he certified a felony charge of destruction of private property -- the house, now condemned -- to a grand jury.

On May 14 last year, animal control officers found 56 cats living in filth so pervasive that there was no place in the three-bedroom home not covered in feces, skeletal remains, or dried blood and hair. The house is in the 4500 block of Treely Road.

More than 30 of the cats had to be euthanized, including two whose eyeballs had abscessed so severely that the organs collapsed. Another had a bladder the size of a softball.

C.T. Coats, an animal control officer, testified that the house reeked of ammonia from urine, children's swimming pools were filled with animal excrement, and the remains of dead animals littered the home. One carcass was found in a cutlery drawer.

Coats said he and his fellow officers found a mother cat suckling her kitten atop a skeleton. There were also four dogs, two of which were euthanized.

"The [jail] time is for the suffering you subjected on these animals," the judge told Wheeler, who will appeal the cruelty convictions to circuit court and have the property charge heard there.

"I don't see how you could turn a blind eye to what I have just seen in these pictures," the judge said..." More

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