7 puppies, mother dogs severely neglected
Eustis, FL (US)Incident Date: Friday, Sep 15, 2006
County: Lake
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Juan Ugarte
Police in Eustis were called on a report of dogs running loose, and officers said they can't believe what they found in a back yard.
They arrested Juan Ugarte, 38, and charged him with eight counts of animal cruelty.
Seven puppies that are roughly 6 weeks old were found in cages. The owner said he thought they were fine.
"The dogs were in deplorable conditions. They are underweight, full of fleas, insect bites. They were just very, very unhealthy," said Animal Control Officer Joseph Waters.
A little bit of water in a large white bucket was left out for the puppies, but officers wondered how tiny puppies were supposed to get to the water.
"There's no way that they could even get in there, even if the water was filled to the top," Waters said. "And even if they could get in there, they would end up drowning trying to get out."
Three adult dogs were also chained outside in areas with little or no shade. A blue cooler also had water in it, but it was filthy and green.
The kennels had animal waste all over the floor, and the waste itself was moldy.
The puppies are extremely thin and their ribs can easily be felt through their skin. Some of them have lesions all over their bellies that doctors said come from living in filth and waste.
The mother dog should still be nursing the pups, but the authorities said she's so undernourished that she's making little or no milk.
Animal Control officers said they don't know yet if the puppies will ever be healthy enough to be adopted. References« FL State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Lake County, FL
|
