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Puppy Mill Busted -- 88 Animals Seized
Ben Wheeler, TX (US)Incident Date: Friday, Jul 2, 2004
County: Van Zandt
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Linda Williams
The SPCA of Texas, in conjunction with the Van Zandt County sheriff's offices, rescued a total of 88 animals -- 26 cats, 37 dogs, 22 Barbado sheep, one rabbit and two wolf hybrids -- from a breeder in East Texas Thursday.
The animals -- including large and small breed dogs -- were living in a cat and puppy mill near Ben Wheeler, east of Canton. They had been forced to live in crowded, filthy conditions without clean food or water.
Linda Williams, 49, who lives just outside Canton, faces possible charges of animal cruelty.
Officials from the Van Zandt County Sheriff's department have repeatedly visited the property over the last year and issued warnings to improve the animals' living conditions. Most of the cats and dogs lived in small, cramped cages, and many of the animals are emaciated. Some of the cages also contained dead animals.
The animals were taken to the SPCA in McKinney where they will be examined by veterinarians, vaccinated, wormed and cared for until final custody is determined.
A hearing is scheduled for Friday, July 9, 2004 at 9:30 a.m. at the Pct. 2 Courthouse in Canton. If the SPCA is awarded custody, the cats and dogs will be spayed or neutered and made available for adoption along with the sheep and the rabbit. The wolf hybrids will go to a sanctuary.
This is the SPCA's third puppy mill raid in Van Zandt County this year. Dave Garcia, the SPCA's VP of Humane Law Enforcement, said that law enforcement officials there are "taking a more active role in animal cruelty because they have the resources through the SPCA do to just that."
"The SPCA urges citizens to take action and contact legislators to stiffen laws and penalties that will eliminate the market for mass-bred pets," said Garcia. "We must stop the unnecessary addition of countless animals to an already tragic problem of pet overpopulation."
Typically, dogs bred in puppy mills are sold in venues such as flea markets, pet shops, over the Internet or via newspaper ads. In most cases, the animals, many with medical problems, are not vaccinated or wormed, are malnourished and sick, and suffer abuse, physical stress and lack of socialization.
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