Southwest Mo. woman charged in puppy mill case
Fort Mill Times | FortMillTimes.com - Southwest Mo. woman charged in puppy mill case - Fort Mill, SC
By CHERYL WITTENAUER
(Published February 20, 2009)
ST. LOUIS — A dog breeder was charged Friday with two misdemeanor counts of animal abuse after authorities rescued more than 200 dogs, a cat and a Bengal tiger from her southwest Missouri facility.
Newton County prosecutor Jacob Skouby filed the charges against Margaret J. Bond, 66. They are misdemeanors because Bond has no prior convictions, Skouby said.
The Seneca woman is not in custody and no bond was set. She has no listed phone number, and no attorney has come forward on her behalf.
On Thursday, the county, the Humane Society of Missouri, the state Department of Agriculture and Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield removed 208 dogs, a domestic cat and a Bengal tiger from her property.
She faces a fine of up to $1,000 and up to a year in jail for each count.
A probable cause statement said rescuers found the dogs sitting in feces and urine, without food or water, many of them crammed together into single cages. Their hair was matted or contaminated with animal waste, the document said. Some were hairless. Dog food bags held skeletal remains of dogs and puppies, the affidavit said.
The affidavit said the tiger was caged and malnourished to the point that its ribs were showing. It also said the animal's hair had mud and feces and its paws were infected from exposure to animal waste. It had no food or water, the document said.
The Missouri Department of Agriculture said it suspended Bond's breeder's license and seized more than 150 animals in July 2007.
The department has taken 22 enforcement actions on substandard Missouri breeding facilities since January alone, rescuing 920 animals, spokeswoman Misti Preston said.
The Humane Society of Missouri is housing and caring for the Seneca animals at its St. Louis facility, pending the outcome of a March 9 disposition hearing. The agency is making an urgent appeal for dog food, blankets, towels, newspapers and dog toys, as well as cash donations.
It was the Humane Society's second rescue of animals from a Missouri puppy mill in less than a week.
More than 100 dogs, mostly Yorkshire Terriers, were rescued Feb. 13 from an unlicensed, facility near Pleasant Hope.
Humane Society President Kathy Warnick - and some of the Yorkshire Terriers - were on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" show Friday in a segment that focused on the rescue.