Thursday, June 29, 2017

Virginia: Back in October, Animal Control removed 22 dogs from breeder Hannah Licwinko and the house was condemned. Police say Licwinko, 49, moved out, but secretly hid 18 dogs inside the condemned home.

VIRGINIA -- Last week, police said 18 dogs were pulled from a condemned home on East Beverley Street in Staunton by animal control officers.

The seizure of the animals came eight months after 31 dogs were taken from the same residence, according to a search warrant.

No criminal charges have been filed in the case.


Authorities were initially called to 813 E. Beverley Street on Oct. 28 concerning a report of several dogs left inside the vacant home, according to a search warrant filed by a Staunton animal control officer. The officer couldn't get inside the home initially but spotted several dogs though a window, a police report
said.

Once the homeowner was contacted and entry to the home was gained, the officer noted a "strong smell of feces and ammonia inside," the search warrant stated.

The search warrant said 31 dogs were seized from the home. The dogs had overall good body weight, the search warrant said, but many of them had overgrown nails, fleas, skin conditions and "possible upper respiratory issues."

Twenty-two of the dogs pulled from the home in October were surrendered to animal control. 

The woman who owns the home was allowed to keep four dogs, the limit in Staunton unless one has a breeder's license, said Officer Jennifer Stevens, a spokesperson for the Staunton Police Department. Several other dogs were reportedly given to the woman's son and a friend.

Police said the water inside the home was turned off in April 2016, and city officials condemned the home in November just days after the dogs were discovered.

But last week on Friday, officers from animal control were back at the East Beverley Street residence following another complaint of dogs being left inside the home, which is still condemned.


"They took 18 dogs out of there," Stevens said. "A lot of them were prior dogs," taken in October.

Court records show that Hannah Marie Licwinko (aka Hannah Marie Oxendine, Hannah Oxendine Lickwinko), 49, faces a civil violation in connection with the most recent seizure.

Stevens said criminal charges are pending.

Many of the dogs from the October seizure were surrendered to the police department and adopted, according to Stevens. The 18 dogs taken from the home on Friday were taken to the Shenandoah Valley Animal Services Center in Lyndhurst and will be held until a judge makes a decision in the case, Stevens said.

(News Leader - June 27, 2017)

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