[News] Puppy Mill Raided!

[mlb]

Snohomish County investigation contacted me via email and I just sent them a whole account of my experience with Renee Roske and I filled out a police statement. Lets hope everyone comes forward and links her to her mom.
I'm hoping they havn't arrested her yet because they are building a case.

[omichka]

good for you you did that.
I also sent the whole file on her I've collected from 2004.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to put her in same cage on the pic I have just posted, but SO MANY people wish to see her there. That's what people told at the event when they looked at the pic....

[yorkiesmiles]

Originally Posted by mlb

Snohomish County investigation contacted me via email and I just sent them a whole account of my experience with Renee Roske and I filled out a police statement. Lets hope everyone comes forward and links her to her mom.
I'm hoping they havn't arrested her yet because they are building a case.

wonderful, wonderful - you are all doing so much to help

[yorkiesmiles]

Not guilty plea in puppy mill case

06:19 PM PST on Thursday, February 26, 2009

Not guilty plea in puppy mill case | Local News | KING5.com | News for Seattle, Washington

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. - A Skagit County couple has pleaded not guilty in connection with a major puppy mill case.

Richard and Marjorie Sundberg are facing felony animal cruelty charges after more than 400 dogs were seized from their property last month.

On Thursday the prosecutor asked the judge to sign an order that would allow 75 of those dogs to receive dental care.

The Sundbergs' attorney asked for more time to review the order.

"Many of the teeth are just hanging on in there, and just ready to fall out, beyond the pain of the actual teeth and their gums the infections that go along with horrible dental care like that start running through the whole body," said Austin Gates of NOAH Animal Rescue, one of the agencies that has taken in some of the dogs.

The judge will rule on the dental request next week, when the Sundbergs return to court.

Prosecutors tried unsuccessfully last week to get a judge to order the Sundbergs to post a $100,000 bond to help pay for the care of the seized animals.

[yorkiesmiles]

Preschoolers pitch in to help rescued dogs

Preschoolers pitch in to help rescued dogs | More Washington News | NWCN.com | Northwest News and Weather
video available at site

06:17 PM PST on Thursday, February 26, 2009

By ERIC WILKINSON / KING 5 News

LAKE FOREST PARK, Wash. - It's a lesson in community service and compassion for preschoolers at Lake Forest Park Montessori.

Talona Mytty was so moved by the plight of hundreds of dogs rescued from two recent puppy mill raids, she mentioned it her class.

Five-year old William Rae went right home and got to work.

“I cleaned up my room so I could earn money,” said William, who earned $2.

William's selfless act inspired the other kids to put out the call, and from that $2 came hundreds of pounds of supplies for the desperate dogs. The school also held a bake sale and a donation drive.

The parents may have donated most of the money, but the kids did the heavy lifting.

And on Thursday they brought it all, including $800 in cash, to the Everett Animal Shelter, where the kids got to see the faces their food will feed.

All of them will be looking for a home, and that could be soon. The courts have released all of the Snohomish puppy mill dogs.

Animal shelter officials say about 85 dogs will be up for adoption as soon as next month. About 85 others have been placed with breed-specific rescue agencies that will find them homes.

[omichka]

Man with 160 dogs ‘didn’t know it was illegal’:

The couple charged with running an alleged puppy mill make their first appearance in court.:

HeraldNet: Man with 160 dogs ‘didn’t know it was illegal’

Kennel owners enter not guilty pleas:

Skagit County's News and Information Source | goskagit.com

Not guilty plea in puppy mill case:

Not guilty plea in puppy mill case | Animal News | KING5.com | News for Seattle, Washington

Accused puppy mill owners plead not guilty:

Accused puppy mill owners plead not guilty | KOMO News - Seattle, Washington | News

[yorkiesmiles]

Gold Bar couple deny they're responsible for kennel's condition

Gold Bar couple deny they're responsible for kennel's condition - Everett- msnbc.com

By Jackson Holtz Herald Writer
The Everett Herald

LOCAL NEWS - GOLD BAR -- Before Serenna Larsen goes to bed, she checks the doors and windows. She feels threatened and fears for her safety.

Her next decision, she said, is clear.

"We're going to have to move," she said Thursday at a coffee shop in Monroe.

Serenna and her husband, Jason, both 37, are the Gold Bar-area couple accused of being a part of a multimillion-dollar puppy mill. They are charged with six counts of first-degree animal cruelty. If convicted, they could face fines and jail time.

On Jan. 16, Snohomish County sheriff's detectives and animal control officers seized 160 dogs from what court papers describe as "deplorable" conditions.

That night, the couple, who took care of the dogs, found themselves in an interrogation room talking with detectives.

"I was there for something that's not our fault," Jason Larsen said Thursday.

They said they were manipulated by Renee Roske, the owner of Wags 'n' Wiggles, a Snohomish dog breeding company, which reportedly made millions over the past several years. Roske and her business enterprise are at the center of the sheriff's office investigation into an illegal breeding operation at homes in Gold Bar, Snohomish and Mount Vernon.

Roske, 44, of Snohomish, hasn't been charged with a crime. She is appealing the county's decision to revoke her business license and fine her $100 for keeping more than the legal limit of 25 dogs.

Roske on Thursday declined to be interviewed, acting on her attorney's advice.

On Thursday morning, Roske asked Evergreen District Court Judge J. Steven Thomas to grant an order to protect her from the Larsens, who she said threatened her life. Thomas denied Roske's request.

Roske's sister is the owner of the Gold Bar property where the Larsens worked. The day after the Gold Bar raid, deputies searched Roske's Snohomish home, seizing financial records and illegal drugs, according to court documents. No dogs were taken.

A few days later, Skagit County officials raided a kennel on Roske's mother's property near Mount Vernon, rescuing about 450 dogs. Marjorie Sundberg, and her husband Richard Sundberg, face multiple animal cruelty charges in Skagit County.

Snohomish County detectives continue investigating Roske's business. They have received more than 110 e-mails from customers after asking to hear from anyone who bought a dog from Wags 'n' Wiggles.

The Larsens said they got involved in the business after they were befriended by Roske. They first met in 2004, when they purchased a dog from her.

During the next few years, the Larsens started to trust Roske's expertise with their dog, who was sick. At one time she gave them another dog, with the understanding that if the dog had puppies they would split the litter, the Larsens said.

Then in 2006, Roske entrusted the couple with several more dogs. At Roske's suggestion, they brought those dogs to the house outside Gold Bar when the Skykomish River was about to flood. They worried about their pets' safety, they said.

By spring 2007, there were more than 150 dogs being kept at the property, most belonging to Roske, the Larsens said. That's about the same number seized by officials from the home last month.

In exchange for helping Roske with the breeding businesses in Gold Bar and at her Snohomish home, she told them all their expenses would be paid for, Jason Larsen said. "What she meant by everything was literally everything," he said.

Serenna Larsen said she worked inside Roske's vast Snohomish home, where her responsibilities included cleaning the house and tracking dog sales.

Jason Larsen estimated that weekly sales averaged about 20 dogs costing $500 to $6,000 each.

After the dogs were seized, the Larsens, who claim they are the lowest people on a giant puppy-mill totem pole, found themselves in serious legal trouble for the first time in their lives.

Jason Larsen said they were led to believe that they weren't breaking the law. Neither has a criminal record in Snohomish County.

"The whole thing is just flabbergasting," Jason Larsen said. "We weren't in it for the money."

Officials said the dogs near Gold Bar were kept in squalid conditions, that the rescued animals were covered with fleas and many dogs had serious veterinary problems. Several dead dogs were found in a freezer.

The Larsens said they didn't live in the home and were following instructions on how the dogs were to be raised. They cleaned cages several times a day, they said. If puppies were still-born, the Larsens said they were told to preserve the tiny remains in the freezer in case autopsies were deemed necessary.

Problems with fleas came in cycles, the Larsens said, exacerbated by dogs that were moved between the business's kennels.

Dental problems among dogs from Wags 'n' Wiggles were well-known and not a result of neglect, they said.

"We were trying to take care of them," Serenna Larsen said

[omichka]

Kennel owners plead not guilty to 10 charges:

Skagit County's News and Information Source | goskagit.com

Gold Bar couple deny they're responsible for kennel's condition

HeraldNet: Gold Bar couple deny they're responsible for kennel's condition

[yorkiesmiles]

Vets go extra mile for puppy mill dogs

Vets go extra mile for puppy mill dogs | KOMO News - Seattle, Washington | News
Watch the story in video form

Story Updated: Mar 1, 2009 at 5:53 PM PST
By KOMO Staff


EVERETT, Wash. - Veterinarian Steve Weinrauch was watching TV with his wife a few weeks ago when he saw the heart-wrenching images of 600 dogs rescued from three filthy kennels raided in Mount Vernon.

He couldn't just stand by - he knew he needed to get involved.

And now dozens of dogs rescued from kennels in Mount Vernon are getting the medical help they so desperately need, thanks to the hard work of Weinrauch and other veterinarians and volunteers.

"We saw what happened and we thought we'd like to get involved and help out," Weinrauch says.

Weinrauch teamed up with Dr. Giles Little, who opened the doors to his Renton Banfield Pet Hospital.

Now the clinic's ER is constantly busy. On a typical recent day, there were 28 dogs, dozens of volunteers and hundreds of procedures - all to give the rescued dogs a shot at a new life.


"We're basically trying to make them as adoptable as we can," says Dr. Giles Little, veterinarian owner of Renton Banfield Pet Hospital.

Everett Animal Shelter, which is housing many of the dogs, is very grateful for the vets' timely aid and assistance.

"Knowing that these animals had been without care for a long time and that they were all going to need care, I mean, it was a pretty expensive prospect," says Hilary Hager of Everett Animal Services.

And there's a lot of work to be done.

"We're seeing a lot of rotten teeth, a lot of tartar, of lot gingivitis, dental infection, dental disease," says Weinrauch. "We're also seeing a lot of ear infections, really really bad skin."

But one by one, the furry little guys are getting the help they need - one step closer to the homes, lives and love they deserve.

"We're so grateful that they were able to do this for us," Hager says.

Weinrauch says he never doubted it was the right thing to do.

"Might as well send them home shipshape, take care of them and make sure they all go home happy," he says.

It will still be a little while before the dogs are ready to be adopted.

But anyone who is interested in adopting can visit the web site of the Everett Animal Shelter.

[yorkiesmiles]

http://www.scnews.com/default.asp?so...scnews&he=.com

March 21

[omichka]

HeraldNet: There are many unanswered questions

[yorkiesmiles]

Puppy mill dogs could be up for adoption soon

Puppy mill dogs could be up for adoption soon | Local News | KING5.com | News for Seattle, Washington

04:18 PM PST on Wednesday, March 4, 2009
By SUSAN WYATT / KING5.com


MOUNT VERNON, Wash. - Hundreds of dogs and puppies seized in a raid of a puppy mill operation in January may be available for adoption soon after a Skagit County couple has agreed to forfeit the animals.

The Skagit County Prosecutor's Office says with the exception of dogs cited in the criminal case and several dogs that may belong to other people, all of the 400 dogs taken from Richard and Marjorie Sundberg’s property are now owned by the rescue agencies that took the animals in.

According to an agreement worked out between the Prosecutor's Office and the Sundbergs' defense attorneys on Wednesday, the Sundbergs can have no pets or animals at their residence in Mount Vernon.

Prosecutor Rich Weyrich praised Deputy Sloan Johnson for the handling of the forfeiture matter.

"He worked hard with all of the parties to bring about an agreement that prevents the possibility of dogs being returned to the Sundbergs now or at any time in the future," said Weyrich.

The Sundbergs are each charged with four felonies and six misdemeanors, including animal cruelty and transporting or confining an animal in an unsafe manner for their dog breeding operation.

The Prosecutor’s Office said the agreement has no effect on the pending criminal charges against the Sundbergs.

Kate Reardon with the Everett Animal Shelter, which has 89 dogs in foster care from a raid in Gold Bar, says they are working out the details of an adoption event to be held sometime this month.

[omichka]

March 4th, 2009:



Owners give up seized dogs:

Skagit County's News and Information Source | goskagit.com

Puppy mill dogs could be up for adoption soon:

Puppy mill dogs could be up for adoption soon | Local News | North Bureau | KING5.com | News for Seattle, Washington

Seized dogs finally up for adoption:

Seized dogs soon to be up for adoption | KOMO News - Seattle, Washington | Local & Regional

[livingdustmops]

I am thrilled to hear that none of the dogs were returned to these people!

[omichka]

Well... Roske still has appx. 40 dogs.... Her mother's dogs and Larsen's dogs were taken away.... Roske's were not.... How I understand... or I missed that info because as you can see soooo many articles.....