The man, who witnesses said left two kennels stuffed with the dogs – one with 14, the other with 16 – under trees at San Remo Park on May 20, was tracked by Orange County Sheriff's Department investigators after he abandoned a Toyota truck nearby. The dogs were left under two trees. One kennel held 14 dogs; the other held 16. Dogs were stacked upon atop each other. There was no food or water in the kennels.
Investigators first tracked the truck to a Huntington Beach address but learned the man was no longer living there. They continued their efforts and on Friday located the man who was connected to the truck, said Lt. Tom Behrens, chief of police in Laguna Hills.
The man told investigators he had taken the dogs from his mother's Rancho Santa Margarita home with plans to take them to an animal shelter, but his car broke down in Laguna Hills and he unloaded the dogs there, Behrens said. He told investigators that his mother had had them for a long time and there were many dogs.
According to OSCD Sheriff's Department records, there had been no calls for service to the home in question. The home is in the northern part of the city in a residential neighborhood near the 241 toll road. The man told police his car broke down in Laguna Hills and he unloaded the dogs there. It's unclear whether the man had planned to return and pick up the dogs, he added.
[An earlier article says that after dumping the dogs on the sidewalk the man and two women drove away in a Mercedes Benz. Clearly, they were abandoned. Otherwise, why not load the dogs into the Mercedes?]
According to Sheriff's Department records, there had been no calls for service to the home in question. The department is submitting a report to the county District Attorney's Office to see if charges involving animal abandonment and animal cruelty can stand.
The dogs, identified as Lhasa Apso Chihuahua mixes, have been kept in isolation at OC Animal Care's Orange County shelter. They range from 6 months to 6 years old; most are adult dogs, said Ryan Drabek, director of the animal care agency. The dogs are generally in good health, though some are matted and have ingrown nails.
Animal rescue groups have posted on Facebook and Twitter in hopes of helping to find homes for the dogs. Drabek said that while he appreciates the outreach, the dogs can't be adopted yet.
"There's a whole new angle now, and we are trying to obtain owner information," he said. "We need to determine if the owners can get the dogs back.
Assuming the dogs will be available, we have to do our due diligence to assure they are out property."
Drabek said the shelter follows a protocol on all animals. If a stray comes in with no identification, the dog has to be held for four days before it can be adopted. If animals come in as stray with identification, the shelter has to hold the dog for seven days. Even if an owner surrenders an animal, they still have to be kept for four days before they are available for adoption.
Animal control officers are routinely asked to check on situations where people have more animals than permitted by their cities, Drabek said. Most Orange County cities allow a maximum of three dogs and three cats, some cities allow only three animals, and in all situations anything over the limit requires a permit.
Animal hoarding situations such as 30 or more animals are unusual, Drabek said.
He also emphasized the difference between animal hoarding and animal cruelty. If animal control officers find multiple animals that are well cared for, they will usually work with the owner to reduce the number of animals to a legal limit over time.
If animal cruelty is found, animals are impounded. A case in Stanton in March involved animal cruelty and property that was deemed uninhabitable, Drabek said. The animals were seized.
In Mission Viejo in October 2008, Orange County sheriff's deputies found 70 dachshunds in a home owned by a Karen Stone, who had been breeding the dogs. Most of the dogs' vocal cords had been cut. Most neighbors had no idea Stone had all the dogs. The Mission Viejo Animal Shelter worked with Stone over nearly two months removing the dogs.
Drabek, whose agency oversees 17 Orange County cities (including Rancho Santa Margarita and Laguna Hills) and the unincorporated area, said taking in the 30 dogs brings extra burden to an already overburdened shelter. The shelter can house up to 380 dogs, 300 cats, 50 rabbits and numerous exotics.
Once custody of the dogs is likely released to OC Animal Care, Drabek said a special adoption event might be held.
"We want to heighten attention for shelter animals," he said. "Not only for these dogs, but to help increase adoptions in all the shelters."
(ocregister.com - May 30, 2012)
Earlier:
Police identify suspects in 30-dog dumping case
