Florida: Police find 7 dead dogs, 9 more alive in Dolores Saverese’s home. They say she has a history of animal abuse going back to 2008.

FLORIDA -- Nine Cocker Spaniels made it out of Dolores Saverese’s Boca Raton home alive when city police searched the house in late August.

Seven didn’t.

Officials found bodies of a German Shepherd and a Labrador retriever puppy wrapped in plastic, surrounded by filth. In a bedroom, there was dog skin, a spine and what appeared to be a skull.

The 56-year-old woman told police the animals had been lying there dead for years.

 

Saverese was arrested early Saturday on 18 animal cruelty and confinement charges, jail records show. She was released from the Palm Beach County Jail that night on a $24,000 bond, according to court records.

Police were tipped off by a caller Aug. 22, who reported “deplorable” conditions and possible animal abuse.

Three days later police obtained a search warrant and trekked through the home where trash was piled 3 feet high and rodents scurried across the windows.

Officers described Saverese as a hoarder with an obsession for owning animals.

A month after the search, Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control officials were back for two new dogs she’d gotten after the search, Sgt. Dave Walesky of Animal Care and Control said.

NINE YEARS OF SUFFERING

City police frequented her home on West Camino Real, east of Interstate 95, in the last eight years, records show. They made seven visits before the dogs were finally taken from her.

In 2008, it was to remove 23 dogs who had no water or food. She spent a year on probation after being convicted of animal cruelty in that case, court records show.

Other times it was for animal ordinance violations, such as failing to comply with the county’s sterilization and vaccination ordinances, according to court records.

But it wasn’t until police received a warrant in late August that they did a thorough search of the three-bedroom, one-story home with a smell so pungent officers had to use protective breathing equipment to wade through it.

Feces, urine, dust and dog hair covered the home, according to a city police report. The nine Cocker Spaniels that survived had fleas and matted fur. Some had heart problems, broken teeth and ear infections, a veterinarian from the county’s Animal Care and Control reported.

An elderly man also lived in the home, Walesky said. It’s unclear whether he will face charges, as well.

Saverese bought the dogs from a breeder in Missouri, according to the police report. Just days after the spaniels were taken from her home, Saverese called the breeder multiple times, asking about buying new puppies, the breeder told police. By Sept. 30 she had obtained two new dogs, Walesky said.

A judge ordered Saverese have no contact with animals. She is scheduled to appear in court again Nov. 8, court records show.

Trash completely filling her car

(Palm Beach Post - Oct 31, 2016)