Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Hoarding - 68 dogs seized

Hoarding - 68 dogs seized
Pahrump, NV (US)

Incident Date: Saturday, Oct 1, 2005
County: Nye
Local Map: available
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 4 files available

Alleged: Tana Naas

Case Updates: 3 update(s) available

Case ID: 5992

Classification: Hoarding

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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Child or elder neglect

A complaint to Nye County Animal Control resulted in the Oct. 1 removal of 68 small dogs from a Pahrump residence. The owner of the dogs, Tana Naas, was cited for 60 counts of cruelty and is scheduled to appear at 9 a.m. Dec. 12 in the Nye County Justice Court in Pahrump.

Child Protective Services were also called to the scene and two minors were taken into protective custody.

According to animal control supervisor Deborah Pemberton, all the dogs were small and confined to the house. "Some of the dogs were unrecognizable they were so covered in feces," she said. Many of the dogs were locked in a bedroom. Some were penned.

Animal control officers donned HAZMAT suits to enter the home. "Feces was a foot thick in the house," said Pemberton.

The dogs are expected to recover, however one of them had a leg amputated two days after being rescued.

No information was given on the minor children.

Case Updates

Tana Naas, 57, of Pahrump, a woman charged with 68 counts of animal cruelty, had her case continued yet again on Thursday, Sept. 21. The judge ruled that Naas had to undergo a psychological investigation prior to appearing in court again.

Naas was charged with one count of animal cruelty for each of the dogs, mostly small Yorkies and Silkies, that were found in deplorable condition and stacked in small cages throughout her house in October 2005. The dogs were for the most part living in their own feces and not taken care of in any capacity, to the extent that one dog had to have his leg amputated after nearly gnawing it off himself.

It took a HazMat team eight hours to remove all of the animals from Naas' residence, in which her two grandchildren were living in as well. Naas' grandchildren were removed from her custody, and Southern Nye County Friends of Animals said that all the animals had been adopted as of Sept. 22, 2005.

Source: Pahrump Valley Times - Sept 27, 2006
Update posted on Sep 27, 2006 - 9:42PM

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A fight has been brewing over man's best friends and on Wednesday two small groups of picketers entered the fray. They gathered on the corners at Basin Avenue and Highway 160 at mid-morning, holding signs in support of the Nye County Friends Of Animals (NCFOA).
The picketers waved to passing drivers to call attention to the troubles the Friends Of Animals, a 501c3 non-profit animal rescue group, is having with the head of the Nye County Animal Shelter. Dogs are at the heart of the continuing battle between the two organizations.

68 small dogs - mostly Yorkshire Terriers and Silkies - were confiscated from an alleged puppy mill operating in Pahrump. While that case is still going through the court system, it is confirmed that two weeks after the animals were taken into custody, their owner, Tana Naas, relinquished her ownership of the animals to the county. Twelve of the dogs belonged to a second party and were returned to their owner, leaving 56 homeless dogs. Prior to the transfer of ownership, the animals were considered to be evidence and as such were protected from being killed. They also could not be put up for adoption. Since the Nye County Shelter was at capacity and the 56 newly acquired dogs had to be kept as evidence, the dogs already living at the shelter could have been put down to make room for the new arrivals.

To avoid the deaths of healthy, adoptable dogs, Bob Jones, director of the county shelter, turned to the rescue organization headed by Vie Keller, president of Southern Nye County Friends Of Animals, currently located on Quarterhorse Road in southern Pahrump. (Friends Of Animals was in the news recently because the lease on their current property is not being renewed and they are looking for a new permanent location.) The county had been using the services of Friends Of Animals for five years, notifying the rescue facility when the shelter reached capacity and dogs were condemned to be euthanized for lack of space. Friends Of Animals would then purchase the at-risk animals from the county shelter, paying approximately the same fees the public pays to adopt animals. However, in this case, Jones gave the 56 dogs to Friends Of Animals at no charge and expressed his gratitude for the help.

According to Deborah Pemberton of Nye County Animal Control, a unit under the auspices of the county's Emergency Services Department, the dogs were in bad shape. They had been kept in deplorable conditions - some in cages, and others locked in rooms with feces thickly covering the floors as well as coating all the long- haired dogs. "Some of the dogs were unrecognizable they were so covered in feces," officer Pemberton said. "Feces was a foot thick in the house." The dogs were taken to Friends Of Animals where they were cleaned by a team of people. At least one dog was covered in maggots. Skin sores were treated. Veterinarian Suzanne Zervantian also treated ear and eye infections and amputated one dog's leg. Groomers and volunteers worked nights and weekends to care for the dogs. All the dogs were spayed and/or neutered as well, with the last operations completed over Thanksgiving weekend. "It was an enormous undertaking, said Zervantian. The veterinarian also reported that one of the rescued dogs died earlier this week from illness and age.

Bob Jones heads the county's buildings and grounds department and took on the added responsibility for the Nye County Shelter in March. He was aware Friends Of Animals would clean, treat and sell the dogs. However, he and Keller did not discuss the price the Friends Of Animals would charge for the dogs, and that's where the trouble began. There were five valuable Yorkie puppies among the rescued dogs. The Friends Of Animals sells dogs based on their relative value, age and condition. Older dogs are hard to place and generally no charge is levied for them. However, Friends Of Animals priced the five Yorkie puppies at $300 each. The adult Yorkies sold for $125 to $150. Un-papered Yorkshire puppies sold by pet stores cost about $800 in Las Vegas, where Friends Of Animals normally brings the unwanted pets they rescue from the Nye County Animal Shelter. This year, Friends Of Animals has rescued and sold more than 500 Nye County dogs to residents in Las Vegas through the adoption program at Petsmart, where Friends Of Animals is recognized as a qualified rescue operation.

But the Yorkies and Silkies never made it to Las Vegas. As news of the sale of the dogs surfaced, Pahrump residents lined up to adopt the animals, resulting in the purchase of every dog. However, not everyone was happy with the sale. According to Jones, the shelter fielded calls from people who thought the price for the puppies was too high - and Jones agreed. "I am unhappy with the way it turned out," said Jones. "They (the Nye County Friends Of Animals) have a non-profit mission, but it turns out the whole issue is about money. It should be about the animals, not how much money you can make selling them," he said. "A reasonable price for those dogs would have been $150 to $200," continued Jones. "$125 is a fair and reasonable price and would have more than paid them back. It was never about me killing all of the (shelter) dogs. "I am just disgusted by all this. I have made a lot of improvements to the shelter in a very short time and I am going to run the shelter the way I think it needs to be run."

Keller is just as adamant the Friends Of Animals rescue facility will be run by the board as members see fit in the best interest of the animals. "We will not surrender the control of our organization. We charged our customary fees and I will not bow down to his demand to lower the cost of our adoptions," said Keller. "The majority of those Yorkies went for $200 each and people were fighting over them. They are highly desirable dogs." For large, mixed breed adult dogs, Friends Of Animals collects an adoption fee of $125. For mixed breed dogs under six months old, the fee is $150. All prices were established more than two years ago, before Keller took office. The Friends Of Animals already was caring for 50 animals before taking responsibility for boarding the terriers.

Keller cited the expenses Friends Of Animals incurs to care for all their animals - including veterinarian bills, liability insurance and automobile expenses. Gasoline averages $1,000 per month, not to mention maintenance and insurance for vehicles used to transport the animals to Las Vegas for adoption each weekend. "Our vet bills average $2,500 each month," Keller said. Friends Of Animals also employs three caretakers to clean the dog runs and feed and clean the dogs. In contrast, expenses incurred by the county shelter overseen by Jones - including employee salaries and benefits - are paid by Nye County taxpayers. "That's why Nye County can adopt dogs out for $64," said Keller. "Their operation is subsidized and funded by taxes. They don't have to take in enough money to fund their operation. "They are the ones making money off the backs of dogs," stated Keller. "They are funded by the county, yet they are still charging adoption fees. "What would happen to the unwanted dogs in Pahrump without our organization," Keller said. "Four hundred or 500 more dogs a year would die. To say differently is bullshit!"

The difference of opinion between Jones and Keller has resulted in Jones taking a renewed look at all the animal rescue facilities in Pahrump. Jones said he plans to petition the Nye County Board of Commissioners to put the issue of requiring kennel licenses on an upcoming agenda.

Source: Pahrump Valley Times - December 9, 2005
Update posted on Dec 12, 2005 - 10:26AM

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Nye County Animal Control has shutdown a puppy mill, and now the owner is facing 68 counts of animal cruelty. Eyewitness News has the exclusive story.
The conditions inside the Pahrump home were so deplorable; it is amazing that these dogs survived. Vie Keller with the Southern Nye County Friends of Animals says of a Yorkie, "I named him Caesar because when I met him he had the heart of a Caesar. He was meant to live." It is a miracle that this little Yorkie, or the 64 others now at the Southern Nye County Friends of Animals, are alive. Vie Keller says, "When we discovered him, his leg was hanging by just a narrow thread. And it was full of maggots and if you held him, the maggots would fall on the floor." His hair was so matted that his rescuers believe he chewed his leg to the bone. It had to be amputated. Vie Keller says, "He'd come hobbling up with that leg to greet you."
It is unbelievable to think that it was the same Yorkie who was living in deplorable conditions at a Pahrump home for years. In all, 68 dogs, most of them Yorkies and Silkys, were stacked through out the house in cat-size cages. They were living in their feces with matted hair, ear and eye infections, and only let out to breed.

Debbie Pemberton with Nye County Animal Control says, "We've seen neglect and cruelty cases before, but this rates pretty high on our scale."
The dogs' owner, 57-year-old Tana Nass, was cited for 68 counts of animal cruelty and was evicted from the home. Her two grandchildren were removed from her care.
It took 8 hours and a HazMat team to remove the dogs to their new home at the shelter. One of the board members there has gone home each night and knitted a sweater for each of the Yorkies. That's because when they were finally groomed, they were cold from losing all their hair.
The owner of the puppy mill, Tana Nass, faces a $1,000 fine, 48 hours of community service and whatever else the judge finds necessary. Nass also faces welfare and check fraud charges.

Thirty-three dogs are left for adoption. If you would like to adopt one of them, call Southern Nye County Friends of Animals at 775-537-2020.

Source: KLASTV - November 24, 2005
Update posted on Nov 23, 2005 - 10:23PM

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Pahrump Valley Times - Nov 11, 2005

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Hoarding - 68 dogs seizedPahrump, NV (US)

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Hoarding - 68 dogs seized
Pahrump, NV (US)