Nearly 200 dogs found at Putnam County residence; Animal Control asks rescues to help with adoptions

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. – Nearly 200 small mix-breed dogs were found at an Interlachen residence on Wednesday by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and Putnam County Animal Control.

Officials said they were notified about the case earlier in the week about possible neglect.

Officials met with the elderly owner and determined that the dogs were being fed and taken care of, but the situation spiraled out of control because of the number of dogs not spayed or neutered.

The dogs will be taken to the Animal Control facility at 174 Landfill Road in Palatka to be temporarily housed. The dogs are available to 501c3 designated rescues.

“We want to ensure these animals are taken care of and vetted to the appropriate homes, so we are calling on rescues to help due to the sheer number of animals we received at intake,” Deputy County Administrator Julianne Young said. “This is something that the facilities at Animal Control cannot handle long-term for adoption purposes.”

Officials said the dogs were fed, but they will need help from rescues to keep them updated on vetting and grooming.

“I’m not sure that it’s going to be any type of evil or criminal intent here, what it more so looks like as a situation that got out of control, that has resulted in these animals not being vaccinated, being very dirty, covered in fleas, and that type of stuff,” Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Col. Joseph Wells said.

Some dogs will be available for release today since the owner was cooperative with officials.

“We will continue to work with the owner in this situation as she remains cooperative. However, this is a reminder as to the importance of spaying and neutering pets,” Wells said. “The living situation for the owner as well as the animals deteriorated and now we are trying to find homes for a lot of extra dogs.”

This is the second time multiple animals have been removed from a property in our region. While the circumstances are different, last week 56 dogs were removed from two homes on the north and westside of Jacksonville.

Michael Bricker, chief of animal care and protective services, said they still have 30 to 40 dogs at their facility, but they are in their own kennels and getting lots of enrichment and attention from volunteers and the public.

“We’ve sent a bunch of them already into foster homes. So a lot of them are sleeping on couches right now. We’ve adopted a bunch of them. One is residing in my office. She’s amazing, her name’s Tequila, but they’re doing really well,” Bricker said.

Bricker said two people are charged with animal cruelty.

“We had at least one dog with some pretty severe injuries that we’ve taken from those properties. So I know that there’s at least a couple of animal cruelty charges related to that dog. His name is People’s. He was one of the ones that was injured. But he’s doing great to see you still available for adoption,” Bricker said.

Wells said the community is already reaching out to help with the influx of dogs they’re dealing with.

“We will be immediately happy to take any donation of dog food. Keep in mind, these are mostly very small dogs, so smaller dog food, wet and dry, any type of blankets, dog toys, anything along those lines that would just help us,” he said.

Donations can be brought to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office headquarters at 130 Orie Griffin Boulevard.

Wells said at this point the property owner is facing misdemeanor charges but that could change as the case develops.