Rankin deputy helps with removal of 140 dogs from puppy mill

ALABAMA -- The Choctaw County Sheriff's Office, with the help of a national animal rights group and Rankin County Sheriff's Deputy Ken Sullivan, rescued more than 130 dogs from a breeding facility in Needham, Ala. last week.

After the Choctaw County Sheriff's Office received complaints from community members about the facility belonging to Rebecca Miller and Janice Freeman, it sent undercover investigators to examine the breeding facility and to purchase dogs to take for medical evaluation.

 

 

 

When responders arrived at the property, they found animals suffering from hypothermia, dehydration, dental disease and blindness, among other medical issues.

Sullivan, who has helped with similar animal control situations, said they also found 10 dead dogs in garbage cans and two dead dogs in the woods behind the property.

 

 

Inside the residence, authorities found over 1,500 types of prescription pills, $20,000 in cash and a revolver. Both Miller and Freeman were detained on Wednesday.

  

Miller and Freeman are each charged with one count of animal cruelty. The sheriff's department also charged Miller with being a convicted felon with a gun.

Additional charges are pending, Sullivand and Choctaw County Sheriff Scott Lolley said.

 

 

"There may be some federal charges coming in. It could be tax fraud or disability fraud," Sullivan said.

Lolley said the ASPCA can do forensic evaluations of the animals. Lolley talked about one case in which an autospy was performed on a dog who died shortly after being removed from the facility.

"One dog we removed had an oblong head ... They did an autopsy and said the injury was consistent with a hammer or a blunt object," Lolley said, noting that in Alabama that could possibly constitute a felony charge for Miller and Freeman.

 

 

"It's clear that profit was put above the well-being of these dogs," said Tim Rickey with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals, one of the organizations involved in the rescue. "As is the case with most puppy mills, these dogs were treated as products for sale and not valued as living beings."

The dogs are now at a temporary shelter housed by ASPCA where they are receiving veterinary care.

"We will provide them with much-needed medical attention and socialization and hope to place them with animal shelters to be made available for adoption once custody is determined," Rickey said in a press release.

(Jackson Clarion Ledger - ‎Mar 11, 2015‎)