Abuse Alert
 

Nov. 5, Riverview Florida. Animal services has rescued 77 dogs..P M Tinies. Mainly Yorkies and Chihuahuas. thirteen thousand block of hwy. three o one and corner of Ambleside Blvd. (sorry, my keyboard won't type numbers, gotta get a new one asap..) Trailers filthy, 3 people arrested facing 80 counts of felony...

how sad!

I hope that the dogs are okay although I am sure there will be some who need more medical attention than others. :(

Hopefully they can be saved and find great homes for them.

RIVERVIEW — A sign outside dubs the business "The Happy Puppy Place," but Hillsborough County Animal Services officials say it's anything but.

PM Tinies, a puppy sales business at the home of Patricia Martin Walters, 13605 U.S. 301 in Riverview, was shut down Wednesday after officials say they found 77 small-breed dogs living there in squalor.

Marti Ryan, an Animal Services spokeswoman, said the dogs — mostly chihuahuas — were living in a small house and several rusty trailers around it on the rural property. They range from a few weeks old to 21 years old.

Ryan said the trailers were in very rough shape, and living conditions inside the home were atrocious.

Ryan said the 73-year-old owner, Walters, and two other people who live there — Daniel Hickman, 41, and Elaine Cave, 69 — were arrested and charged with more than 80 counts of felony animal cruelty. They were taken to a Hillsborough County jail.

Ryan said Walters has been cited by Animal Services before. Officials have been watching her business since the 1990s, but only recently were they alerted to the extent of the problems.

"This is not the place for happy puppies from what I've seen today," Ryan said.



[Last modified: Nov 06, 2008 05:45 PM]

bastards should rot in jail:mad::mad::mad:

Oh how awful!! People like that should be shot!! Why wasn't animal protection paying MORE attention to them??? Makes me want to cry to think of those poor babies living like that for so many years. 1990!! OMG!!

Please keep us posted as to what happens to those dogs. Just makes me want to cry and scream at the same time! :mad:

Omg when I saw this on the news I wanted to throw up. It sickens me how cruel people can be. Well I live like 30 minutes away from Riverview where it all took place and I went to do some volunteering at the nearby shelter and saw some of the puppies that were taken from the trailers. They had like 20 little Yorkies I wanted to take them all home!! They were so adorable. I hope the people get max. punishment!!! And I hope the puppies go to great homes.

I live in Riverview and had never heard of this breeder. I have been told that a local Vet recommended her because he new the puppies were sick and he could make MONEY!!!!! Also was told that they have been trying to shut her down for a long time.
EXCUSE ME!!!!! WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG?????
I hope those BASTARDS rot in jail too.

Something MUST be done
 

Hi! I apologize for necro-ing an old thread but I had a reason. I joined this forum for two reasons: to respond to this thread and to enjoy the unadulterated pleasure of chatting with Yorkie people. The best dog I ever had was my Tank...who lived up to his name and died 3 months short of his 20th birthday. (Please, don't get me started on "Tank stories"; I'll never shut up!) :D

Returning to this thread -

I knew Pat Walters from 1965 until around 1968. At the time, I was young and naive but I'm pretty quick to learn and I went from admiring a "respected breeder" to being horrified at her practices in three years. I completely severed contact with her and never saw her again.

I'm writing because the newspaper articles all seemed to act as if this latest case was a one-off or the product of a bad economy. Nonsense! While it's true that Pat kept her kennels cleaner in the 60's than described (she had a wealthy partner who paid for kennel help), her breeding practices (Chihuahuas, then) were horrific and when I learned about them I turned her in to AKC. I even spoke to the local AKC rep in person, for hours! Nothing was done.

Over the years, Pat was cited for multiple health and dog abuse violations, none of which resulted in more than a fine. This isn't anything new for her.

I only stumbled across this case by accident on Google but I think that all of us, those who truly care about dogs, must try to get the animal abuse laws changed in our respective cities, counties and states. In most cases, the most horrific abuse is a misdemeanor. Usually it's ignored, pled down, or results in a small fine. In this case, Pat's bail was listed at $42,000 which should have cost her $4,200 from a bondsman but it ended up being reduced to $1,000. This means she could pay it with a hundred dollar bill and walk away.

Pat was a collector in the '60's and she's a collector now. If she still lives, I'd bet serious money those 7 "spayed and neutered" pets have magically reproduced and she's living knee-deep in dog poo once more.

Sorry to sound like a crusader...I'm not. I'm just getting really tired of people acting as if a tiny little Yorkie can only feel tiny little pain and "so what".

Thank you for trying. At least you reported them and did what you could.

Isn't it sad? She was 73 in 2008, so hopefully she won't be breeding any longer.:(

Thank you for your kind response. At least I spent my life trying to be as unlike her as possible so that was a good thing.

One may hope.