Case Details

Hoarding, backyard beeding - over 100 dogs
Palm River, FL (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, May 2, 2007
County: Hillsborough
Local Map: available
Disposition: Not Charged
Case Images: 2 files available

Persons of Interest:
» Martin Otto
» Alma Otto

Case ID: 11391
Classification: Hoarding, Neglect / Abandonment
Animal: dog (non pit-bull)
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More than a hundred dogs were packed like sardines into a home in Palm River, according to Hillsborough County Animal Services Spokeswoman Marti Ryan, before they were forcibly removed by animal control officers.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff�s Office, in a press release on May 2, said that the dogs� elderly owners threatened to do harm to themselves if anything happened to them.

When animal control officers arrived, and the interaction with the couple became more subdued, officers went through the dogs on the property to assess their health and found several breeds: long-haired Chihuahuas, short-haired Chihuahuas, Yorkshire Terriers, Pomeranians, Poodles, mixed-breed Labradors, Boston Terriers, Bulldogs, and Pitbull Terriers.

As of 5 p.m. on May 2, more than 40 of the dogs had been rushed to Animal Services offices on Falkenburg Road from their home on 66th Street in Palm River for medical care.

The raid left some neighbors wondering how something like this could happen.

Christina Epps, a neighbor and self-described dog-lover said she heard ominous warnings about the couple.

�When we moved into the neighborhood, we got told to steer clear of them because it wasn�t a good situation down there,� Epps said.

The Otto�s house is set a few hundred feet back on the large, rural, leafy property.

�There are animals everywhere,� Ryan said.

�There are feces, there are crates, and there are containers with dirty water stacked around. It�s not a good situation for the animals,� she said.

Ryan explained though, that the dogs� owners were equally distraught.

�They�re very, very upset. These are old folks and they are very, very sweet. They probably remind you of people in your own family,� Ryan described.

�What we have here is a couple that have been married for 53 years,� she said.

The Ottos are in their late 70s and an unusual case for animal services.

The couple was accused of �backyard breeding� the dogs, which is against the law without the proper license.

Ryan said they may be suffering from the psychological disorder of hoarding, too.

�So many, that it�s just gotten away from them -- they mean well,� Ryan explained.

�Mrs. Otto refers to them as her �babies.��

By Wednesday evening, animal services workers believed they would not press criminal charges against the couple because they were cooperating with the officers and getting the dogs some help -- which, they said, was their ultimate goal.

Additionally, Ryan said her office would be working on the possibility of letting the Otto�s keep as many dogs as was humanely possible, because the breeding is their livelihood.

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References

MyFox Tampa Bay - May 2, 2007
Tampa Bay's 10 - May 2, 2007

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