Puppy mill - 90 dogs
Harriman, TN (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Nov 4, 2009
County: Roane
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Marjorie Dodd
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A woman under investigation for operating a puppy mill has been charged with six counts of animal cruelty after authorities for the third time discovered dogs jammed together in poorly ventilated sheds, jerry-built pens and portable carriers.
Virtually all of the 90 dogs and puppies found on Marjorie Dodd's Poland Hollow Road property in Harriman on Wednesday had health problems ranging from infected jaws to mange to flea infestations, John Sanchez said.
Twenty-eight animals with the most severe health issues were seized, said Sanchez, an investigator with the Roane County District Attorney General's office.
Dodd, 72, has been cited for six counts of animal cruelty. Future charges would be upgraded from misdemeanors to felonies, Sanchez said.
Wednesday's raid by Roane County animal control officers was the third time in two years that authorities have inspected Dodd's property.
Nearly 100 dogs were found there in August 2008, when Dodd was given an "ultimatum" to improve the animals' living conditions, Sanchez said.
Fifteen animals seized then were in such poor condition they had to be euthanized, he said.
Inspectors returned last August and conditions were essentially unchanged, with 149 dogs and puppies there.
Authorities found much the same situation Wednesday, with the animals in "extremely cramped conditions," Sanchez said.
Animals crowded together in the three sheds were the worst off, he said. "The ammonia smell from the urine was so strong you could barely breathe," Sanchez said.
"We had a vet from Knoxville who volunteered to be there, and she was horrified by the way those animals were living," he said.
Sanchez said it appeared Dodd regularly fed the animals, but drinking water was "putrid with algae," and one bowl had a dead mouse in it.
During the lengthy investigation, Dodd made a statement that she kept so many animals because she was selling them, Sanchez said.
Case UpdatesAn elderly Harriman woman this morning surrendered to Roane County authorities the remaining dogs she had from what officials allege was a puppy mill they say she operated for years.
The action confiscating 14 animals from Marjorie Dodd's Poland Hollow Road property drew applause from animal rescue group members present for her Sessions Court appearance.
Left uncertain: the fate of another estimated 66 dogs and puppies that were on her property following a Nov. 4 raid, when officials seized 28 dogs with the most severe health problems.
John Sanchez, an investigator with the Roane County District Attorney's Office, said an effort is under way to learn what happened to those animals.
Dogs that were seized earlier have been treated for numerous health problems and been placed in foster care with animal rescue organization members, officials said.
Dodd today requested that she receive a court-appointed attorney, and multiple animal cruelty counts against her were continued until Jan. 4. Judge Jeff Wicks banned Dodd from having any animals in the interim, Sanchez said.
Dogs on Dodd's property were living under "appalling conditions,"' said Karen Marquand, with Small Breed Rescue of East Tennessee.
All of them were flea-infested with parasitic diseases and living in their own excrement in unlit, unheated sheds, she said.
"The ammonia stench was unbearable,'' said Sherrie Farver, with Little Paws Canine Rescue. | Source: KnoxNews - Dec 14, 2009
Update posted on Dec 14, 2009 - 4:35PM |
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