Texas: Another 'rescue' raided. Houston SPCA seizes more than 150 animals from Puppy-Dogs-R-Us

TEXAS -- The Houston SPCA has removed more than 150 animals from a Dayton facility where some dogs, kept on the outskirts of the property in wet and muddy pens, had not had human contact for three weeks.

The 150 dogs, six cats and one horse were removed from Puppy-Dogs-R-Us, a 20-acre, self-described animal rescue in Dayton, the SPCA said.

 

Liberty County Animal Control believes this to be county's the largest single abused animal seizure in recent memory.

Margie Michalsky is the listed "principal" on their 501c3 registration.

Read the press release from the Liberty County Sheriff's Office

  

 

 

The Houston SPCA will have the animals evaluated by its veterinary staff and continue to care for them until permanent custody is determined. A civil custody hearing is slated for Jan. 10 in the Dayton Annex Court of Judge Larry Wilburn.

Lead investigator Sgt. James Sprayberry said at least 15 dogs at the property were being boarded there, and the owners will not be able to collect their dogs at this time. The owners must attend the Jan. 10 court hearing with proof of ownership and ask that their pets be returned to them.

If the court awards custody of the animals to the SPCA, owners can then contact the SPCA to retrieve their animals. The SPCA will also look for microchips while treating the dogs to determine whether they were lost or stolen.

  

  

  

 

After the custody hearing, the sheriff's office and the Liberty County District Attorney will determine whether criminal charges should be filed. Animal Control Deputy Linda Bloomingdale said the sheriff's office will aggressively pursue any animal cruelty charges if the situation warrants it.

Capt. Ken DeFoor of the sheriff's office said the investigation into this property has been going on since 2009.

  

  

  

  

 

"That place was horrendous," DeFoor said. He said the animals had been "virtually abandoned on the outskirts of the property without food, clean water, care or human interaction for weeks."

COMPLAINTS GOING BACK TO 2009
He said the owners have received numerous warnings from both the SPCA and the sheriff's office, but as soon as violations were corrected, new violations would crop up.

After years of this cycle, numerous violations and complaints from area residents led the sheriff's office to issue the civil seizure warrant on Jan. 4.

  

  

  

  

 

"They were just totally overwhelmed," DeFoor said of the couple that owns the property. Some animals were kept in a hot metal shed over the summer, while others were kept in the house, which was full of flies.

The SPCA said animals were found "in various conditions of neglect," surrounded by their own waste. Officials said some dogs were found standing on top of their kennels to avoid their flooded kennel floors.

  

  

  

 

(Houston Chronicle - Jan 5, 2017)