Indiana: Puppy mill breeder has 16 emaciated Great Danes and German Shepherds seized in exchange for not being criminally charged. How many dogs does she still have? Because WITH THEIR CONSENT she's still breeding and selling puppies.

INDIANA -- More than a dozen Great Danes and German Shepherds were rescued from an “overcrowded and unsanitary” breeding operation at a farm in a nearby county.

Last week, Indiana State Board of Animal Health officers were called to an unspecified property by local law enforcement.

The dogs, many emaciated and all in need of care, had likely never been out of their kennels, according to Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control Director Amy Jo-Sites.

The Fort Wayne shelter was called to remove 16 Great Dane and German Shepherds. They were brought to Animal Care and Control for evaluations.

Another news site said one of the dogs was a Poodle and that the ages of the dogs ranged from a few months old to 12 years old. So basically she dumped her old dogs which weren't worth anything since they can't breed any longer. And she dumped them with her puppies which were past the "cute, roly poly" stage and getting to be gangly, not-so-cute juveniles that tear everything up and aren't housetrained.

“After being told and then seeing first-hand the conditions these dogs were housed in, we couldn’t walk away and ignore it just because they weren’t in Allen County,” said Sites. “Our supporters expect us to do something. It was quickly apparent many of these dogs had never been out of their kennels.”

The dogs are being medically and behaviorally evaluated to determine their needs and potential challenges for an adopter.

Fourteen dogs were considered emaciated. Several dogs will need advanced medical treatment, officials said. 

They have received basic preventative vaccinations and given an initial medical exam, and their progress will be measured.

When the dogs are deemed both behaviorally and medically healthy, they will be spayed or neutered and ultimately placed for adoption.

“We have already reached out to a partnering shelter who has taken four of the younger German Shepherd dogs,” said Sites. “Though these dogs have created an unforeseen drain on our medical donations, we are getting them the services they desperately need to be given their first chance at a real life in a loving home.”

Hello. Here's an idea. Why don't you tell this puppy mill operator to SHUT DOWN her business in exchange for not prosecuting her AND for not billing her for the care of all these animals? Instead, they let her continue with her puppy mill operation AND don't bother to tell anyone who she is so they can avoid purchasing a sick puppy from her and funding her criminal operation.

Bad cop and bad judge tags added because this woman needs to be prosecuted, not allowed to dump her problem animals onto the public and make taxpayers pay for the dog's medical care.

Animal Care and Control is accepting donations for the medical expenses incurred to rehabilitate and place the dogs. Donations can be made to the medical fund online at http://www.fwacc.org, by mail or during business hours at 3020 Hillegas Road.

The owner of the dogs agreed to bring her dog ownership and breeding activities into compliance with state law, according to a news release.

(WANE - May 23, 2017)