Attorneys/Judges
| Judge(s): | L. Suzanne Geddis |
77 dogs found in unsanitary conditions in home
Deerfield Township, MI (US)Incident Date: Monday, Aug 9, 2010
County: Livingston
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Roxanne Webster
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A Deerfield Township woman was arraigned Thursday in 53rd District Court, accused of keeping 77 small-breed dogs, mostly dachshunds and Pekingese, in unsanitary conditions. Roxanne Webster, 58, was charged with cruelty to animals, a four-year felony.
Webster, 58, returns to Livingston County District Court on Nov. 3 for a preliminary exam, at which time Judge L. Suzanne Geddis will decide if there is probable cause to send Webster's case to Circuit Court for trial. Webster is free on a $10,000 personal bond.
County Animal Control officials said the office received a tip in August that a homeowner, later identified as Webster, had too many dogs living in "bad conditions."
When Animal Control officers arrived at Webster's home in the 4000 block of Center Road, they found 77 dogs -- 90 percent of which were Dachshunds, and the remaining were Pekinese, a cocker spaniel and a Labrador -- that were living inside the home.
Case UpdatesA Deerfield Township woman, who allegedly had dozens of dogs in feces- and urine-filled cages at her home, will stand trial for animal cruelty to 10 or more animals, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Livingston County District Judge L. Suzanne Geddis did not disguise her disgust for the conditions of the more than 70 dogs and their living environment as she questioned Roxanne Webster about why the 58-year-old defendant could treat dogs she "supposedly wants" as described in two days of testimony.
"They're not pets; they're caged one on top of another like a factory," the judge said, summarizing testimony. "That's not how a dog is supposed to live. ... This is very disturbing evidence. You don't want animals taken care of like this."
The judge added: "It's making me sick to my stomach to hear what happened to these animals."
Dr. Leann Berglund-Fosdick testified Tuesday that the dogs were infested with fleas to the point they were self-mutilating in response to the fleas' bites. She said one female dog had a inch-long tumor in her mouth that was "large enough to interfere with the function of (her) mouth," and another was paralyzed.
Berglund-Fosdick said the paralyzed dog, which was euthanized, had thick, wrinkled and cracked skin that she compared to an elephant, and had suffered chronic fungal disease as well as a raw abdomen from urine.
She said the dogs also had serious dental issues that were "worsened by the fleas." She said the dogs would bite at the fleas and got hair in their teeth that was not cleaned.
"Can you imagine hair stuck in your jaw? You have to feel that," Berglund-Fosdick said. "We were grossed out by (the dogs') teeth."
Animal Control Officer Michelle Dirette testified earlier that she went to Webster's home in the 4200 block of Center Road on Aug. 19 after receiving an anonymous tip that 30 or more dogs were being housed in "poor conditions."
She said when she went to Webster's home, she found three dogs running outside and about 40 dogs in the kitchen. She said about half of the dogs �" mostly Dachshunds and some Pekinese �" were roaming free in the kitchen and dining area while the remainder of the dogs were housed in small cages stacked three cages high.
Each cage contained one to three dogs, some of which were fighting and most of which had feces- and urine-soaked towels in the cage as well, Dirette said.
Webster's living room had a similar scene that included an additional 30-40 dogs, Dirette said, adding that the ammonia smell from the urine was so "overwhelming," she had to cover her nose with her shirt.
Officials said Webster voluntarily released the dogs to the Animal Control officers. | Source: livingstondaily.com - Nov 10, 2010
Update posted on Nov 12, 2010 - 2:26PM |
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