Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Puppy Mill - 38 poodles

Puppy Mill - 38 poodles
Winter Haven, FL (US)

Incident Date: Saturday, May 24, 2003
County: Polk
Local Map: available
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 1 files available

Abusers/Suspects:
» Terry Fraley
» Brenda Fraley
» Paula Smith - Dismissed
» Betty Lowe

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

Case ID: 1427

Classification: Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

View more cases in FL (US)

Four Polk County residents are behind bars facing animal cruelty charges.

Deputies arrested the three women and a man after discovering a hideaway kennel in the backyard of a home on north scenic highway. Investigators found 38 poodles in poor conditions, allegedly suffering from extreme neglect.

Nine of the dogs had to be euthanized. The remaining poodles are now with a poodle rescue group.

The four people arrested are Terry Fraley, Brenda Fraley, Paula Smith and Betty Lowe. Each faces 38 counts of animal cruelty. Each suspect is being held on a 38-thousand dollar bond.

Case Updates

Paula Smith says her reputation as a poodle breeder has been ruined because of her arrest more than three years ago for animal cruelty.

Prosecutors dropped the charges against Smith on Sept. 15, just days before the start of her trial.

In May 2003, the 65-year-old former owner of Hideaway Kennels in Lake Wales and three of her workers were charged with 38 felony counts of animal cruelty. Each carries a maximum of five years in prison.

The case dragged on without any resolution. Then, earlier this year, the three workers accepted plea deals in exchange for two years' probation.

Scott Wilder, a Sheriff's Office spokesman, said the Polk County Sheriff's Office stands behind its investigation and is happy to have three people convicted for animal cruelty.

Wilder said there would be no apology for Smith. "She absolutely knows what was going on out there," he said. Wilder said the dogs were living in "vile" conditions, with some having open wounds and missing jaws. The Sheriff's Office spent about $2,000 over several months to treat the ear infection in one poodle, he said.

In a Thursday telephone interview, Smith, a breeder since the early 1970s, insisted that she isn't guilty of animal cruelty to her dogs.

"I was trying to do the right thing for my animals," she said.

As she began to have health problems, Smith said she called Florida Poodle Rescue, a St. Petersburg-based rescue group, to take 38 dogs. The dogs were old or had some genetic problems, she said.

Florida Poodle Rescue alerted authorities about the condition of the dogs. After an investigation, Polk County sheriff's deputies arrested Smith and her three workers.

"We definitely are not criminals," Smith said. "I never expected anything like this would happen."

She denied running a "puppy mill" from the kennel's location on North Scenic Highway in Lake Wales. She estimated that she sold about 20 puppies a year.

"I checked out the people that I sold to," said Smith, who has moved to Lakeland to live closer to her family. "I advised you that I would only sell to you if you were a good home."

Smith's lawyer, Arnold Levine of Tampa, said there was never any evidence that his client or her workers committed intentional acts that caused the condition of the dogs.

Even with the case lasting for more than three years, Smith refused to take lenient plea deal offers, Levine said. "She was convinced (that) she did nothing wrong," Levine said.

Smith is planning to sue the Polk County Sheriff's Office and Florida Poodle Rescue, Levine said.

"The filing of the charges at the outset was a clear, gross abuse by the Sheriff's Office and the State Attorney's Office," Levine said.

But Chip Thullbery, a spokesman with the State Attorney's Office in Bartow, noted that by accepting plea deals, Smith's three workers had accepted some responsibility for the abuse.

"It is clear that these animals were abused, but it is often difficult in these types of cases, where there is more than one caregiver, to pinpoint who is responsible for the abuse," he said.

"It was just deplorable," said Corinn Smith, a volunteer at Florida Poodle Rescue.

The Clearwater resident, who is not related to Paula Smith, denied allegations that the nonprofit organization rescued the ailing dogs to get more donations.

"We are just a bunch of (people) -- mainly women -- who care about dogs," she said.

Some of the dogs were euthanized and others were eventually adopted, she said.

Corinn Smith said she was upset that the charges against Paula Smith were dropped and her workers only got probation for misdemeanor charges of cruelty to animals.

"Just with the pictures and vet records -- it didn't matter what I said or the other volunteers said -- that would have made the case," Corinn Smith said.

Source: The Ledger - Sept 23, 2006
Update posted on Sep 28, 2006 - 11:53AM

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	The Ledger

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Puppy Mill - 38 poodlesWinter Haven, FL (US)

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Puppy Mill - 38 poodles
Winter Haven, FL (US)