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Case #11643 Rating: 3.2 out of 5
Fifteen dogs seized from breeder
Graham, WA (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Jun 21, 2007
County: Pierce
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Bernadette Vohs
Case Updates: 3 update(s) available
Fifteen dogs are at the Humane Society shelter in Tacoma, from poodles and Yorkies all the way up to Great Danes. Their lives are in limbo because of allegations of theft and cruelty brought against their owner, Bernadette Vohs.
Police arrested her Thursday after a customer told police Vohs was trying to cheat her out of money paid for one of the Great Danes.
Pierce County Animal Control Officers swooped down on Vohs' Graham home and confiscated the dogs because she no longer had a license to house that many. Neighbors have been complaining.
"I hope she sits in jail for a while because she's burned a lot of people," said neighbor Dennis Tuntland.
But Vohs quickly bailed out and no charges have been filed against her yet.
Vohs tells us that a lot of what you're hearing is totally untrue. She says she was returning from the bank with the refund money for the disgruntled customer when the officers went onto her property.
She insists the dogs are not being mistreated and claims there's no truth to allegations made by a former partner.
Tammy Johnson bred dogs with Vohs, but told us she saw dead puppies in boxes and sickly dogs in Vohs' kennels.
"I'm glad that she has shut down and I hope they find good homes and I hope they don't ever reproduce again," Johnson said.
Vohs says it's all untrue. She says there no dead puppies or sickly dogs, just a failed partnership.
She says she's eager to clear her name in court if charges are ever brought against her.
Vohs admits she hasn't obtained the proper license to house more than five dogs on her property. The dogs will stay at the Humane Society until the courts decide what to do.
Case UpdatesPierce County's dog-boarding nightmare is over, eight months and nearly 127,000 taxpayer dollars after it began.
Superior Court Judge Beverly Grant on Friday abandoned a plan to try to sell dozens of dogs seized from a breeder during a criminal investigation and gave county officials the authority to put the animals up for adoption.
"It's time to stop the hemorrhaging to the taxpayer," Grant said.
Per contract, the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County has been charging the county a daily $10 fee per dog to shelter the animals since they were confiscated in June 2007.
The county is paying to shelter 51 dogs, said Denise McVicker, the Humane Society's deputy director. There were more than 60 at one point, but several died.
As of Friday, the bill had reached $126,440, said Lisa Drury, supervisor of the animal control division of the Pierce County Auditor's Office. The county also is on the hook for a $500 necropsy performed on one of the dogs that died, Drury said.
The dogs' previous owner, Bernadette Vohs, also tallied a bill of more than $60,000 while her dogs were being held, but the Humane Society agreed to waive those fees if Vohs forfeited the animals to the county, McVicker said.
Vohs, who'd been accused of defrauding customers and keeping some of her dogs in poor conditions, pleaded guilty last week to seven felonies and one gross misdemeanor in a deal that allowed her to avoid jail time.
Grant had hoped to recoup some of the costs incurred by the county by ordering the dogs – mostly Great Danes – sold on the open market. But a report delivered by deputy prosecutor Tom Moore this week convinced her to give up that bid.
At Grant's direction, Moore had three American Kennel Club show judges evaluate the animals. The deputy prosecutor supplied them with color photos of the dogs and copies of their health records.
Their appraisal was not good.
The majority of the animals have health or behavioral problems that decrease their value, said Grant, citing the reports.
"The majority of the dogs should never have been bred," the judge said. "They recommend that six or seven of the dogs be euthanized. It's their assessment that these dogs are worth $200 each, if that."
Charles Johnston, who represents Vohs, disputed those findings in court Friday. The vast majority of the dogs were in good shape when county animal control officers seized them, Johnston said.
He also argued that the experts picked by Moore did not research the dogs' pedigrees. A good pedigree would raise the value of the dogs, Johnston said.
The Tacoma attorney said outside court that he hopes to use the dogs' value to defray some of Vohs' restitution costs. He also said he's exploring "the legal ramifications" of how the dogs were seized. He declined to elaborate.
Grant wasn't moved.
"I want the dogs out of the Humane Society and into good homes," the judge said Friday.
In addition to the poor appraisal of the animals, other county officials have complained that the county is in no position to become a pet purveyor because it does not hold the necessary permits.
Deputy prosecutor Allen Rose, who handles civil matters for county government, also had questioned Grant's authority to order the dogs sold.
McVicker said Friday that the Humane Society is making arrangements to ready the dogs for adoption.
Forty-four of them are being housed with foster families, whom the Humane Society has been reimbursing for costs incurred for caring for the animals, she said. Those costs then were passed on to the county.
Those people will get right of first refusal to adopt the dogs under their care, McVicker said. They'll have to have the animals spayed or neutered and implanted with a microchip first, she said.
Seven dogs being kept at the Humane Society's Tacoma shelter will undergo behavioral evaluations Monday and be scheduled for spay/neuter surgery next week, McVicker said.
Once fixed, they'll be available for adoption, she said.
Before issuing her ruling, Grant lamented that the county found itself in a situation where it was on the hook for boarding dogs for months on end. She encouraged county officials to rewrite laws so the onus of boarding confiscated animals falls on their owners.
"Somebody needs to address it, and it seems there needs to not be all this red tape," she said.
Drury said her office is working to revamp county ordinances to address the judge's concerns.
Animal control officials are meeting with Pierce County Council members Monday to talk about the proposed changes, she said.
Anyone interested in adopting a dog can call the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County at 253-383-2733 starting Tuesday. | Source: The News Tribune - March 1, 2008
Update posted on Mar 2, 2008 - 9:24PM |
A dog breeder insists she didn't abuse her animals, but she pleaded guilty to the crime anyway.
Dozens of dogs were seized from Bernadette Vohs' Pierce County property last summer, most of whom are now ready to be sold or adopted.
On Friday Vohs pleaded guilty to theft and animal crime even though she claims she didn't mistreat the dogs at her Graham breeding farm. In an exclusive interview with KOMO 4 News, she held her stance.
"Absolutely not, absolutely," she said. "It's common sense. I had 45 dogs in this and (got charged with) one count of animal cruelty. It doesn't make sense. I'm not going to abuse one animal over the other 44 dogs."
Vohs bred several different breeds, including Great Danes and smaller dogs.
When asked why she decided to plead guilty, Vohs said it was a matter of dollars and cents.
"Because basically we're just common people. It comes down to money. We've spent thousands and thousands of dollars in attorneys," she said.
But animal control officers and some Great Dane breeders say the conditions at Vohs' home were bad, and the treatment of the animals even worse.
"Some of them were in very bad shape when we got them," said Stacie Knudtsen with Dane Outreach. When told Vohs insists she did not abuse her dogs, Knudtsen said,"the evidence wouldn't show that."
Most of the dogs are being taken care of by foster families and six still remain at the shelter. The cost of housing the animals has climbed past $100,000 for the county, and most of the animals will likely be put up for adoption per Vohs' request.
"My main concern right now is that the animals get placed in their 'forever homes,'" said Vohs.
Vohs was sentenced to 30 days of home monitoring and 30 days of community service. She's also not allowed to breed any more dogs, though she does get to keep her three pet dogs.
The judge initially wanted Vohs' dogs to be sold to help pay for some of the boarding costs, but the county said it is not set up to sell dogs and instead opted for adoptions. The judge said no matter what, no dogs are to be put to sleep. | Source: KOMO TV - Feb 23, 2008
Update posted on Feb 24, 2008 - 11:38PM |
A plea bargain has been reached in a case that has cost Pierce County taxpayers close to $100,000 in dog boarding fees.
Bernadette Vohs of Graham, a 44-year-old dog breeder, was scheduled to go to trial Wednesday in Pierce County Superior Court. Instead, lawyers filed notice that a plea hearing in the case is set for Feb. 8.
Vohs is charged with nine counts of second-degree theft and one each of first-degree theft, engaging in business without a valid license, second-degree animal cruelty and operating a kennel without a license.
Authorities seized 38 of her dogs last summer, many have given birth and the county is paying $10 a day for the care of each dog. At 51 dogs, that's $510 a day.
There's no word on terms of the plea agreement. | Source: The Bellingham Herald - Jan 24, 2008
Update posted on Jan 24, 2008 - 2:29PM |
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