Deltona officials are asking a Volusia County judge to find the keepers of dogs seized earlier this month unfit to have pets and to pay for the costs of the Yorkies and dachshunds city officials took away earlier this month, court records show.
Meanwhile, the surviving animals — more than 40 of them — being housed at the Halifax Humane Society are getting round-the-clock health care. Two puppies died and at least six have had near-death experiences but continue to get help, said the organization's Chief Executive Officer Miguel Abi Hassan.
Forty-one dogs were taken from two Deltona homes — at 934 Wilmington Drive and 2130 Montecito Ave. — Dec. 4 when animal control officers executed a search warrant at the residences. Officials said they found the dogs caged in a bedroom without food or water.
The city of Deltona has not filed charges or identified the people being investigated but have summoned Irena Yeater, 59, of the Wilmington Drive home and Charles and Carmen Harris of the Montecito Avenue home to court. Court documents seek to take custody of 14 of the seized dogs taken from the Montecito house.
City investigators said the Harrises and Yeater violated Florida law by confining dogs without sufficient food or water and committed animal cruelty, records state. Officials requested the court to take the dogs away, force the owners pay expenses and prohibit them from owning animals. The hearing is set for Jan. 5.
Yeater has previously been investigated in the selling of sick dogs. She is a dog breeder who runs a website advertising for sale the same breeds confiscated from her home.
In January 2015, an investigator from the Division of Animal Services with the State of Florida Department of Agriculture charged Yeater with two counts of using a forged certificate of veterinary inspection and two counts misrepresenting the health of a dog for sale. Yeater served probation for the charges, documents show.
Yeater could not be reached and court documents did not include a statement from her. The Harrises also could not be reached.
Court documents show the raids at the home earlier this month were carried out after city officials received complaints of multiple animals being housed in unsafe conditions at the Montecito Avenue home.
When officials entered the Montecito Avenue home, they found one pit bull type dog loose in the house. Fourteen other dogs were in nine cages in the master bedroom, records detail.
Some of the cages did not have food or water. The cages were raised on cinder blocks and many of them had grate bottoms on which the dogs had to stand, investigators said.
A pathway had been made from the inside of the home to an outdoor area that had plywood walls to keep the dogs in when they were outside, reports detail.
Animal control officers said it did not appear as if the dogs had enough exercise, investigators stated in the report.
Charles Harris told investigators he had inherited three of the dogs from a deceased relative and was keeping the other dogs for someone else. Charles Harris denied breeding the dogs but said some of them had puppies while in his care, documents state.
Charles Harris initially denied knowing Yeater but later admitted he was keeping dogs for her, officials said.
Abi Hassan said on Wednesday that humane society workers are trying to rehabilitate the dogs and have sought the help of an emergency veterinarian for their care. Humane society workers are trying to correct a pattern of neglect that left the dogs requiring minute-to-minute health care and emergency medicine, Abi Hassan said.
"When it comes to mass breeding or what some people call puppy mills, health maintenance is not a priority, profits are," Abi Hassan said.
Abi Hassan said he does not know when the puppies will be available for adoption since there are legal issues to sort out.
"First thing, we have to clear the custody case before a judge and hopefully we get custody of the dogs," Abi Hassan said. "Then we have to have medical clearance that the dogs are ready to be adopted."
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