Her attorney had requested to be removed from the case, he cited, because of failure to communicate with his client and conflict of interest, according to court documents. He had purchased a rescue collie and has donated to the charity, in the past.
In court, Kmiec admitted to lying under oath in a previous court appearance when she stated she had only 35 dogs in her care. She admitted to keeping dogs at her father's residence, and now having those at her residence after the rescue group had finished taking the initial 97.
At one point, Jones became frustrated with Kmiec and threatened to have her arrested if she continued to lie under oath. The president of the Houston Collie Rescue group testified during the bankruptcy hearing and described the deplorable conditions that were found when they visited Kmiec's Tomball residence.
Jones ordered another seizure of the remaining dogs on Thursday by the Houston Collie Rescue and commended them for their efforts.
Kmiec had an initial lawsuit with Kara Kaufman, who had previously sold three collies to Kmiec in 2013.
Court documents describe how Kmiec used the name of Shiela Kopman to enter into the contract, to mask that she was the subject of an ongoing animal cruelty investigation. That investigation resulted in her turning over more than 50 collies to authorities several years ago.
When Kaufman learned of this fraud, she sued Kmiec seeking return of her dogs.
During the hearing, Jones asked the US Trustee to immediately take control of Kmiec's property and all bank accounts.
(KHOU - Sept 4, 2014)
EARLIER STORY:
Collies rescued after owner forced by court order to give them up
TEXAS -- Volunteers rescued more than 65 collies from a northwest Harris County home after the owner was forced by a court order to give them up.
A federal judge issued the ruling Friday morning, ordering Dr. Elaine Kmiec to surrender the animals to Houston Collie Rescue.
This was the end result of a bankruptcy case. Lawyers for a woman who sued Kmiec said she filed for bankruptcy to avoid a judgement against her.
The lawsuit claimed Kmiec lied when she stated she was a breeder and took in the woman's three collies.
"We have orders from the judge and we're going to do what he said, get these dogs safely out of here," said attorney Famose Garner.
A caravan of vehicles showed up Friday afternoon to take away the sick and scared animals, including several pregnant dogs and puppies.
"We were told there were 35 dogs we think there about 60 back there," attorney Zandra Anderson said.
Neighbors said the sounds and smells of the animals had gone beyond being a nuisance.
"Whenever the wind blows you can smell feces. It sounds like chaos. It sounds like the playground of an insane child," Cody Harris said.
The sickest dogs and two who are pregnant will be taken to a veterinarian right away. The others will be kept at an undisclosed location so they can begin the healing process and eventually be adopted.
(Click2Houston - Aug 29 2014)
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