40 dogs saved from atrocious conditions
Kennel and home were in deplorable shape
Updated: Friday, 29 Jan 2010, 5:47 PM EST
Published : Friday, 29 Jan 2010, 5:47 PM EST
* Mylous Hairston
* Posted by: Eli George
Niagara County Sheriff's deputies and the SPCA have rescued dozens of dogs found living in filthy conditions.
People who love dogs will not like this story. Dozens of malnourished, freezing, filthy dogs. Some were taken from a home. The others from a boarding kennel.
One dog after another. That's what Niagara County Sheriff's deputies and the SPCA found at Joelle Kott's Norman Road home in the Town of Wheatfield.
Brandy Scrufari, President of the Board of Directors for the Niagara County SPCA, said, "We've removed over 25 dogs at this point. One dog was deceased."
According to authorities at the scene, the conditions were not fit for animals.
"The interior of the home was in deplorable condition. Dilapidated conditions in the home. Strong smell of animal feces and urine. Paint off the walls," said Scrufari.
Things weren't much better a short distance away at Pitstop Puppy's Animal Rescue and Boarding Rescue on Niagara Falls Boulevard operated by Kott.
Karen Kinzly, a volunteer, said, "I think her intentions in the beginning were good, but I think she just got crazy overwhelmed."
Kinzly spent a little more than a week volunteering at the facility.
"Real emaciated animals in their own feces. Food bowls full of feces," described Kinzly.
Here are pictures of some of the dogs, which included several breeds, and the conditions volunteers say the animals were forced to live in at the kennel.
Kinzly said, "About six of us came back on Sunday and chopped ice out of the kennels and stuff and just realized it was just horrible. It was just too much for her and overwhelmed. They weren't being fed properly. You could see their ribs. Some had sores. Their tails were broken open. It was just really bad."
We're told conditions at Kott's home are bad enough for Child Protective Services to step in and have young children removed from the property.
"It's heartbreaking. Heartbreaking not only from the animals' point of view, but when I see small children in the home and the environment they are being raised in," said Scrufari.
The Niagara County Sheriff's office reports a total of 40 dogs were taken from the two locations. Kott owns the boarding kennel as well. Because of the conditions in the home, she is charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. The children are being cared for by their father.
http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/crime/40-dogs-saved-from-atrocious-conditions
