In addition, 13 poodles -- four of them puppies between the ages of 1 and 3 weeks -- were taken from the home by an area animal rescue.
Three of the children were removed Friday, according to Department of Human Resources spokesman Barry Spear. The fourth child had been taken from the home earlier, Spear said. All four, three girls and a boy between ages 8 and 15, are now in foster care, he said.
Bonnie Liberman, 56, of 151 Oak View has been charged with animal cruelty in the death of a dog, failure to properly dispose of a deceased animal, operating a business without a license and domestic violence, according to Helena Det. Sgt. Chris Rollan. She is scheduled to appear in court May 8, he said.
"She has been very cooperative," Rollan said of Liberman. "I think she has just bitten off more than she can chew."
Rollan said he visited Liberman at her home on Feb. 10 after neighbors complained that a dog carcass was on her property. The officer said he asked her to bury the dog. He returned a week later, and the carcass had not been moved.
"That's when I made the three charges against her," Rollan said, adding the domestic violence charge occurred at a later date. He would not elaborate on that charge.
On Friday, Rollan said he and a DHR representative visited the home and found it filthy.
"With the smell and the feces all in the house, the children just couldn't stay there," he said.
Rollan said he called Two by Two Rescue to help with the dogs.
Liberman has been operating as an American Kennel Club-approved breeder, first of Dobermans and most recently poodles. The dog that died in February was a Doberman.
Efforts to reach Liberman were unsuccessful.
(AL.com - April 30, 2012)
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