Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Puppy mill - 47 puppies, over 120 birds

Puppy mill - 47 puppies, over 120 birds
Miami, FL (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Sep 15, 2004
County: Miami-Dade
Local Map: available
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 6 files available

Abusers/Suspects:
» Ronald Lee Jacoby
» Marina Rics - Alleged

Case Updates: 3 update(s) available

Case ID: 2735

Classification: Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: dog (non pit-bull), bird (pet)

View more cases in FL (US)

Miami-Dade police arrested an animal breeder on cruelty charges in Redland on Wednesday after finding at least 45 sickly puppies penned up in windowless aluminum sheds where the temperature reached 100 degrees.

The undernourished dogs of several breeds -- German shepherds, beagles, Chihuahuas -- were rife with mange, kennel cough and runny noses, police said. At least two puppies had no hair on the sides of their bodies, only their pink skin showing.

''They're all sick,'' said Sgt. Melisa Peacock, with Miami-Dade Police's South Regional Agricultural Patrol. ``There were two 6-month-old labs that couldn't stand.''

Ronald Lee Jacoby, 60, who calls his home-based business Puppy World, was charged with felony animal cruelty, and could face up to one count per dog, police said. Jacoby, of 19890 SW 200th St., also was charged with a misdemeanor count of confining animals without sufficient food and shelter.

More than 120 birds also were found in rusty cages at the farm. Another woman there, identified by police as Marina Rics, claimed the birds -- and was charged with a misdemeanor count for poorly caging them.

''None [of the birds] had water, but they appeared to be in relatively good health,'' Peacock said.

Police went to the farm after receiving nearly a dozen complaints recently. At least one prospective dog buyer called investigators last week to complain of visiting Jacoby about a puppy, only to find horrific conditions, said Detective David Zimmerman, of Miami-Dade's South Regional Agricultural Patrol.

That person ended up buying a dog to get it out of trouble, but it died several days later, Zimmerman said.

Wednesday's raid wasn't the police's first trip to Jacoby's home. In April, on a routine visit with game officials to the farm to check on the birds, officers found that 80 of Jacoby's 86 dogs were sick. They gave him 12 hours to get medical care for the animals. He complied, Peacock said, but was still slapped with misdemeanor animal cruelty charges and was scheduled to appear in court for that case Sept. 22.

But police were startled by the conditions Wednesday at Jacoby's Puppy World, a farm on a one-acre lot with a disheveled blue house and overgrown foliage.

The dozens of puppies were caged inside two aluminum sheds. Roaches populated the floor, and few of the dogs had food or water. There was no air circulation, police said.

''I was drenched in sweat in 30 seconds,'' Zimmerman said.

The dogs have been picked up by the Tri County Humane Society based in Boca Raton, police said, and will be nursed back to health.

For adoption information, call the Miami-Dade Police Department's animal services unit at 305-884-1101.

Case Updates

Despite taking a plea deal in a case of animal abuse where dozens of birds, puppies and dogs were found in deplorable conditions, Ronald Jacoby says he was the victim of Miami-Dade Police and plans on suing them.

Jacoby, the owner of the Puppy World Kennel and Bird World Aviary, was paid visits by Miami-Dade Police four times at his Redland home for allegations of animal abuse last year. There, police found most birds and puppies living in squalor and suffering from a variety of ailments.

Currently serving one year probation and paying restitution to the customers he sold sick animals too, Jacoby told CBS4�s Jawan Strader he is the one that feels like a victim.

�We are actually a scapegoat,� said Jacoby. �They left me penniless.�

Jacoby is forbidden from owning or working with animals as part of the plea deal. He is complaining police took away his business from him.

Furthermore, he told us he plans on suing the police department for not following proper procedure.

�The police department is not acquiring search warrants to go to anybody�s farm or house to take their animals from them, and when they do this they don�t have any licensed veterinarians on the property,� he said.

Police confiscated all of Jacoby�s animals though he claims it was the puppy suppliers he acquired the dogs from that is to blame. He also says he was treating the animals to make them better, but police would not hear out his case.

Jacoby was running his kennel out of 19890 SW 200th Street.

Source: CBS 4 - April 13, 2006
Update posted on Apr 17, 2006 - 8:29PM

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If you have bought puppies from Puppy World, Miami-Dade Police urge you to contact their South Regional Agricultural Patrol Section at 786-218-8344. They also ask you to contact them to report suspected animal cruelty.

In Broward County, call Animal Care and Regulation at 954-359-1313 for an investigation into animal cruelty in unincorporated areas. For an investigation into an animal cruelty situation in an incorporated area, call your city's police department.

In Palm Beach County, call Animal Care and Control at 561-233-1211 to report animal cruelty. It's a countywide service but officials suggest municpal residents should first call their city police departments.

Update posted on Sep 24, 2004 - 5:44AM

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Last week, Ronald Lee Jacoby, 60, and Marina Rics, 52, were arrested at their Redlands home in southern Miami-Dade County on animal abuse charges, police said. The pair posted bail shortly after their arrest, but police arrested Jacoby again two days later when they found 48 more puppies in his nearby warehouse.

Now, the 95 puppies -- six of which police found near death in large plastic containers inside Jacoby's home -- are recovering at Tri County Humane Society in Boca Raton. In the past week, shelter staff has treated them for ear infections, skin sores, parasites and respiratory distress. Four are still on life support.

Source: The Sun Sentinel - Sept 23, 2004
Update posted on Sep 24, 2004 - 5:32AM

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References

	Miami Herald - Sept 16, 2004
	Local 10 News - Sept 15, 2004
	Miami Herald - Oct 21, 2004
	CBS4.com - April 13, 2006

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Puppy mill - 47 puppies, over 120 birdsMiami, FL (US)

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Puppy mill - 47 puppies, over 120 birds
Miami, FL (US)