SOUTH DAKOTA -- A Faulk County woman was arrested after 33 dogs were removed from her home, said Sheriff Kurt Hall.
Hall said 35 Rat Terriers were found in inhumane conditions in the woman's house in rural Faulk County during a probationary checkup of the woman's home on April 2.
Two of the dogs were already dead, and the others were taken to Beadle County Humane Society in Huron for treatment, he said.
The dogs and the woman were living in disgusting conditions, Hall said. He said he and deputies had to wear rubber gloves and overshoes before they could enter the house and retrieve the dogs.
"There were piles of feces everywhere," he said. "Urine was all over the place, and you can just imagine the smell."
The woman will likely face up to 35 counts of inhumane treatment of animals and a probation violation among other charges, Hall said. He wouldn't release the woman's name until she appears in court, and he didn't know her court date. She is in custody, he said.
Faulk County State's Attorney Tim Bormann could not be reached for comment.
Hall declined to say why she was on probation.
REPEAT OFFENDER - ANIMAL CRUELTY
Hall said this woman has a history of animal neglect. About five years ago, he confiscated horses from her because they were kept in inhumane conditions, he said.
In the case of the rat terriers, Faulk County is paying the cost of treating the dogs at this time, he said. Hall said he thinks some of the dogs were suffering from upper respiratory infections and other health concerns.
The Faulk County Sheriff's Office is working with the Faulk County Health Board to figure out what to do with the house because the conditions are unfit for anything to live in, he said.
Hall said the woman said her home was a rescue facility. If that is true, which Hall said he strongly doubts, he wants to know who dropped the dogs off so he could arrest them as well, he said.
Hall said he believes the woman had six or seven rat terriers a few years ago and that they have been inbreeding since then. The humane society will do DNA testing to determine if the dogs are inbred, he said.
The dogs cannot be adopted out until the woman either signs custody of the dogs over to the humane society or a court decision is made, Hall said.
"We're kind of in limbo right now," he said.
(Aberdeen News - April 12, 2013)
