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Animal Control Seizes More Than 100 Animals
04/24/09 - 10:04 AM

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What began as an investigation for one horse ends in the seizure of more than 100 animals, 90 of them dogs. When the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office went to check on a report of a malnourished horse. What they found triggered a much bigger investigation.

Officials from Bay County Animal Control, Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department, Gadsden County Humane Society, and the State Veterinarian’s and State Attorney’s Office, spent all day today, rounding up dogs from one small Calhoun County home.

“Conditions were horrible,” says Bay County Animal Control Director Jim Crosby. “Some of them were in small cages, some of them were in cages off the ground, some of them were living lose, some we caught them under the beds, in book cases, behind things”

Crosby and his team spent the entire day rounding up puppies both inside and outside the property. He continues, “The floor in this residence seems to be saturated in urine and feces.”

Bay County Animal Control found 30 dogs outside on the property, but that number has more then doubled as they continue to pull dogs from inside the house. They found 90 dogs total, all chihuahuas. As well as five horses and 16 goats.

Beth Hall, 59, is charged with one felony count of animal cruelty. However, those charges could soon increase with every animal found. Calhoun County Sheriff David Tatum explains, “I expect that each of the animals that we remove here from this point on, primarily dogs, she will receive a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty.” He says the investigation initially started because of a malnourished horse found on the property but that revealed a much bigger issue. Remains were also found. Sheriff Tatum says, “And it too, appears to have a hole in its skull like perhaps it.. The animal was shot.”

All of the dogs are being taken to Bay County Animal Control where officials hope to be able to have them ready for adoption as early as Tuesday. It will take court approval for that happen.

Since the horses and goats are livestock, they cannot be adopted out like the dogs. Instead, they are currently being fostered and could potentially be auctioned off.