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Animal Abuse Cases - Details

En Español

Puppy Mill - 252 dogs - (Monroe, NC - US)

Crime Date: 04/22/2003
Case Status: Convicted
Case Updates: Available - Click Here
Case Photos: Available - Click Here

Abusers/Suspects:

  • Naomi Deloris Perez

    Case Report

    Union County animal control, law enforcement and animal activists seized 252 dogs on April 22 from Naomi Deloris Perez, the owner of an alleged puppy mill that had conditions a sheriff's detective described as horrific. Authorities said the owner was breeding the dogs and selling their puppies for about $400 each. The seizure came after a months-long effort by the county's Humane Society, begun when it received a complaint about a sick puppy. Society members later went to the home posing as dog buyers and took photographs and videos of the site's conditions, Susan Marsh, the county's animal control supervisor said.

    Susan Marsh, the county's animal control supervisor, said she had seen similar operations, sometimes known as "puppy mills," but none quite as big.

    The idea, Marsh said, is to "breed them as fast as you can, as much as you can and sell them for as much as you can."

    The Sheriff's Office on Wednesday issued a criminal summons charging Perez, 77, of 3516 Pageland Highway, with animal cruelty, investigators said. If convicted of the misdemeanor, she could be fined, or sentenced to community service, probation or jail time, Detective John Ingani said.

    Meanwhile, the Maltese, Pomeranians, Chihuahuas, Yorkshire terriers, Shih Tzus and mixed breed small dogs are being held at the Animal Shelter, getting veterinary treatment and awaiting temporary placement in foster homes while the case is being resolved. The dogs, ranging in age from one week to 12 years, can't get permanent placements because investigators consider them evidence.

    On Monday, they approached the Sheriff's Office with the images.  Around 6 p.m. Tuesday night, Sheriff Eddie Cathey, five officers, shelter staff and Humane Society members entered the approximately 35-acre property with a search warrant and found dogs "packed like eggs in cases," said Ingani.

    Dogs were in several trailers and running free in the main house, he said. The team spent the next six hours catching, tagging, photographing and packing up the dogs.

    Ingani described the conditions as "wretched, putrid and horrific."

    Allegedly, three to four inches of feces coated the floor of the main house, a broken refrigerator sat open containing rotten food, and the smell was overpowering, said Lisa Duray, vice president of the local Humane Society.

    Perez's first court date is May 6, but the entire proceedings could take as long as two years, shelter officials said. Perez faced a similar charge in 1993. Union County's District court found her guilty of animal cruelty but the case was dismissed in Superior Court on appeal almost a year later.

    The dogs looked ragged. Some had hair matted into dreadlocks, infested with ticks, fleas or lice. Some dogs also have health problems ranging from premature cataracts to malformed legs from the close quarters and bad breeding, Marsh said. Marsh said the dogs weren't malnourished.

    About five dogs needed to be euthanized. Staff members are placing the remaining dogs in designated foster homes with veterinarians, groomers and animal rescue volunteers who swarmed the shelter throughout Wednesday, offering their help and living quarters.

    Humane society members also tried to return to the home Wednesday to pick up at least three remaining dogs, some cats, a litter of kittens and a parrot, but didn't have another warrant.

    Individuals cannot provide foster homes, but the Union County Humane Society is accepting cash to help pay for care. Send checks to:

    Humane Society of Union County
    P.O. Box 101
    Monroe, N.C. 28105



    Share your views... Did the Punishment Fit the Crime?

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    Case Updates

    Posted: Jan 27, 2004 - 12:48 AM

    Delores Perez was found guilty of animal cruelty Wednesday night and banned from having any animals ever again.

    The 77-year-old was on trial three days, accused of keeping more than 250 dogs, two kittens and a parrot in squalid conditions in her Union County home.

    In the criminal case, Bragg gave Perez five years of supervised probation, and subjected her to random warrantless searches by Animal Control or probation officers to see if she has animals.

    In the civil case, brought by the Humane Society of Union County, Bragg ruled she could not own, possess or sell animals ever again. She must pay $38,952 in veterinary bills plus the Humane Society's legal fees and any additional veterinary expenses.

    Perez must pay totaling, more than $100,000 in fines, fees and restitution.

    The unusual case began after sheriff's deputies, animal control officers and members of the Humane Society of Union County raided Perez's 35-acre property in southeastern Union County and confiscated the animals. They said she ran a "puppy mill," breeding and selling dogs at high volume in squalid conditions.

    But the court still had to resolve the final amount Perez has to reimburse the Humane Society and its attorney Rodney Alexander.

    District Judge Chris Bragg increased from the original $47,000 to $101,222 the amount Perez must pay in fines and restitution. Broken down, that's $50,000 for legal fees, $38,952 for veterinary costs, $10,000 as a criminal fine and $2,270 for other costs such as videotaping a witness's testimony.

    What remains unclear, however, is whether Perez could leave North Carolina and continue her business elsewhere. She had moved to Union County almost 20 years ago after running a similar business in California, testimony showed.

    Prosecutors and Alexander argued she had said the same thing before, back in 1993 when she faced similar animal cruelty charges. Those charges eventually were dismissed on appeal.

    Offering no witnesses, the defense rested its case quickly but had cross-examined each of the plaintiff's witnesses seeking inconsistencies, embellishments and bias.



    Posted: Aug 2, 2003 - 12:14 PM

    The two cats, one parrot and more than 250 dogs seized from a 77-year-old dog breeder's home in April may be moved from temporary foster care into permanent homes as soon as next week.

    The animals have been held as evidence, awaiting the last step of the civil portion of Delores Perez's animal cruelty trial that was heard in Union County's courthouse Wednesday.



    Posted: Jul 3, 2003 - 8:48 PM

    Delores Perez was found guilty of animal cruelty Wednesday night and banned from having any animals ever again.

    The 77-year-old was on trial three days, accused of keeping more than 250 dogs, two kittens and a parrot in squalid conditions in her Union County home.

    After hearing testimony from 15 witnesses over three days, then deliberating for two hours, District Judge Chris Bragg issued the verdicts against her. Bragg had combined criminal and civil cases to conserve court resources.

    Although Perez received no jail time, she received the maximum penalty allowed and faces at least $47,000 in fines and restitution.

    However, her attorney, Don Brown of Charlotte, already said he plans to appeal both the criminal and civil rulings. From the start of the case, he had argued the animal cruelty statute and the joining of her civil and criminal cases were unconstitutional.

    Any appeals could delay permanent homes for the dogs.

    Read More: Charlotte.Com



    Posted: May 7, 2003 - 4:23 PM

    The District Court judge delayed the case until May 20.

    Read More: Charlotte.Com



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