A Chicago shelter is busy readying 20 puppies for adoption after a February raid on a Tennessee puppy mill siezed more than 250 dogs found in deplorable conditions.
According to the ASPCA, more than 250 dogs were recovered in the raid. When seized the dogs lacked basic care. They were found with little or no food and were kept in small feces-covered cages with inadequate ventilation.
The Anti-Cruelty Society of Chicago has taken responsibility for the rescued dogs, including poodles, miniature pinchers and Pomeranians. Shelter officials say they hope to have most of the dogs ready for adoption by the weekend.
Not far away, The Humane Society of Northwest Indiana, in Miller Beach, is reporting that it is housing 22 puppies pulled in a raid in Southern Indiana. They are among an estimated 240 dogs taken in the raid. Those animals will be observed for at least a week to make sure they are healthy before being placed up for adoption, said executive director Betty Clayton.
The Indiana Attorney General's Office led the raid on the Breezy Valley Farm, a dairy farm, the Sun-Times reported. The AG claims the owners -- Virginia Garwood, , 63, and her daughter, Kristen Garwood, 26 -- are guilty of tax evasion, alleging the Garwoods had failed to pay at least $135,000 in sales taxes as part of the puppy mill they operated from the elder Garwood woman's home.
"It's not realistic for one or two or even three people to have that many dogs. We have 60 volunteers and we're overwhelmed, and we'll only have those volunteers for a couple of days," Anne Sterling, regional director of the Humane Society of the United States of America, was quoted as saying in The Corydon Democrat on Thursday.
The Garwoods allegedly sold their dogs for hundreds of dollars each the paper said. According to court documents, Kristen Garwood allegedly sold a male Yorkie Poo puppy to an investigator for $250, and another investigator paid $300 for a female Yorkie Poo.
The paper also reported that one dead puppy was found on the property; it was unclear how long the animal had been deceased.
