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Puppy mill - over 700 animals seized
Lyles, TN (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Jun 25, 2008
County: Hickman
Charges: Misdemeanor, Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Patricia Adkisson
Case Updates: 8 update(s) available
Authorities said the raid at the farm of Patricia Adkisson was the largest in Tennessee's history. The investigation was so massive, officials said it could take a couple of days.
About 700 animals were found at Pine Bluff Kennels. Officials called it a puppy mill. Most of the dogs were smaller breeds.
Officials and volunteers found about 200 puppies. The rest of the dogs were used for breeding.
The Humane Society was called in on Wednesday to help with removing the animals and to assess their health.
The animals will be taken to a nearby facility to be housed until an investigation is completed.
All of the animals were housed in various buildings throughout the 92-acre property. Many of them were without water and living in cages covered in feces.
Some of the dogs were dead, and others were close, officials said.
"Skin conditions, eye injuries and broken bones," said District Attorney General Kim Helper.
Adkisson was charged in 1998 with 195 counts of animal neglect and cruelty after police and animal officials said they found hundreds of malnourished dogs and puppies on her property.
Three convictions stemming from the 1998 charges were overturned in 2001 when an appeals court found that police had improperly searched her property, which violated her constitutional rights.
Helper said she didn't want what happened in the last case to happen again.
"We want to make sure that if criminal charges are filed in this case that we have a successful prosecution," she said.
No arrests have been made, and no charges have been filed, but both could be on the way after all of the animals are evaluated.
"This was something that was way beyond what we were capable of handling," said a local official.
The Humane Society and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals helped to arrange the manpower for the raid and housing for all the animals.
There is no animal control in Hickman County, so the animals will be kept at the temporary shelter.
If charges are filed and if the owner relinquishes ownership, a lot of the dogs will have to be placed with local and national chapters of the Humane Society.
Officials said that a lot of the puppies were sold on the Internet, so a lot of the people who bought the puppies had no idea the conditions from which they came.
The Humane Society said that when you buy a puppy, make sure you know where it comes from.
The owner of Pine Bluff Kennels could face one criminal count for each animal. Cats, goats, donkeys, horses and parrots were also found on the property.
Puppy mills are a violation of Tennessee's animal cruelty laws.
Case UpdatesThe trial of Hickman County woman charged with hoarding hundreds of animals at her home began on Wednesday.
Patricia Adkisson is accused of unlawfully transporting dogs or cats, and giving rabies shots without proper certification in 2008.
Authorities seized 700 animals from Adkisson's property last year. Many were in poor health and living in what investigators called "deplorable" conditions.
On Wednesday, two women who worked at the facility took the stand in a Hickman County court. One of those women testified she also contacted authorities after finding two dead dogs and terrible conditions.
Adkisson was ordered to undergo a mental evaluation back in August. Based on the results, a judge ruled she could stand trial. | Source: WSMV - Dec 16, 2009
Update posted on Dec 16, 2009 - 5:18PM |
A trial date has been set for a woman in Hickman County accused of animal cruelty.
Patricia Adkisson will stand trial Dec. 16 in Centerville, Tenn., for charges ranging from aggravated animal cruelty to possession of drug paraphernalia.
Adkisson had been ordered to undergo mental evaluation at Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute earlier this year. That evaluation was completed, and she has been ruled competent to stand trial.
In 2008, investigators found several guns and a list of medical supplies and operating tools at a dog-breeding operation suggesting that Adkisson, the kennel’s owner, may have been performing medical procedures on animals that could not be adopted. She is not a veterinarian.
According to a search warrant, a worker at Pine Bluff Kennels said that almost a dozen dogs were killed in mid-June of that year because they were not adoptable. | Source: WSMV - Aug 27, 2009
Update posted on Aug 30, 2009 - 9:12PM |
| A grand jury charges a woman accused of running the largest puppy mill in Tennessee history. An indictment against Patricia Adkisson includes 24 counts of aggravated animal cruelty, which is a felony. She's also charged with more than a dozen other misdemeanors. Two months ago, more than 700 animals were rescued from her property in Lyles. More than a dozen animals were found dead. | Source: News Channel 5 - Aug 18, 2008
Update posted on Aug 18, 2008 - 10:29PM |
The owner of a Hickman County farm where over 700 animals were seized in June is facing charges.
According to press release from the state Attorney General's office, Patricia Adkission is facing 24 felony counts of aggravated cruelty, nine counts of other misdemeanors for animal cruelty and a variety of other misdemeanors in connection with the raid.
Authorities said the raid at the Lyles, Tenn., farm was the largest in Tennessee's history. The investigation was so massive that it took officials days to take animals away from the area.
Investigators said the animals were housed in various buildings throughout the 92-acre property. Many of them were without water and living in cages covered in feces. | Source: WSMV - Aug 18, 2008
Update posted on Aug 18, 2008 - 10:24PM |
The ASPCA is assisting in Tennessee's largest-ever puppy mill raid, lending their special cruelty investigation team that includes two forensic veterinarians and their Mobile Animal Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) Unit.
The 747 animals discovered in the raid, which began early last Wednesday, were kept in enclosures throughout the 92 acres of hilly and rocky terrain known as Pine Bluff Kennels in Lyles, TN. While the vast majority is dogs, other animals on the property include horses, burros, miniature horses, chickens, goats, parrots and pedigreed cats.
The ASPCA team, including Dr. Melinda Merck, the nation's premier forensic veterinarian and animal CSI, was deployed at the request of the Humane Society of the United States to assist in the collection of evidence for future use in the likely criminal prosecution of the farm's owner. According to Merck, there are about 700 dogs on the property-including more than 200 puppies-all suffering from a lack of basic care. The dogs were found in feces-encrusted, unventilated pens with little or no food or water. Maladies such as matting, sores, broken limbs, hernias and abscesses are prevalent. Breeds found on the site run the gamut, from Pomeranians and Chihuahuas to German shepherds and Great Danes.
"This is one of the worst situations I have ever seen," says Merck. "Animals are in extreme states of neglect and illness. Some are dead. The overcrowding, the unsanitary conditions, the flea and parasite infestation, as well as the stress of competing for food and coping with untreated illnesses, are all severe."
"We are pleased to be able to lend both human resources and hi-tech equipment to this effort in Tennessee as part of our ongoing fight against puppy mills," says ASPCA President & CEO Ed Sayres. "We want to see this cruelty come to an end." | Source: ASPCA - July 4, 2008
Update posted on Jul 6, 2008 - 1:34PM |
Investigators found 747 live animals at Pine Bluff Kennels, a dog breeding operation in Lyles, Tenn., according to a search warrant filed on Monday at the Hickman County Courthouse.
The warrant, which was signed on June 20 by Circuit Court Judge Jeff Bivins, states that Patricia P. Adkisson is being investigated for aggravated animal cruelty and forgery. Adkisson, who has not been charged, has been selling dogs through the Web site pinebluffpups.com. She did not have a license to sell animals, according to the warrant.
Law enforcement officials and members of the Human Society of the United States, who raided Pine Bluff Kennels on June 25 , discovered 682 live dogs and 12 dead ones at the kennels, which are located at 10372 Ed Lyell Road. Investigators found 25 cats, 13 chickens, 4 other birds and 23 horses, according to court records.
Investigator Barry Carroll stated that a confidential informant who worked at the kennels told police Adkisson would kill dogs that were old, sick or otherwise "not adoptable."
"Ms. Adkisson has never taken any of these animals to a veterinarian, not even for the purposes of vaccinations required by state law," Carroll wrote in the search warrant. "If any of the dogs received treatment it was given by Ms. Adkisson usually prior to being sold."
The informant told Carroll that Adkisson was trying to obtain drugs from a black market in Australia. The informant said all the animals that died were placed into a bucket inside the puppy kennel where they were left sometimes for days until Adkisson put them in bags and took them to a dump. | Source: WBIR - July 1, 2008
Update posted on Jul 1, 2008 - 5:53PM |
A labor of love as volunteers and staff at Broward's Humane Society begin to take care of more than one hundred dogs rescued from a Tennessee puppy mill over the weekend.
Broward Humane Society spokeswoman Cherie Wachter said they their team brought back 130 dogs � everything from Yorkies and poodles to a pair of Bassett Hounds.
"Overall they are in good shape," said Wachter, "but I don't think any of them has ever had a bath."
Wachter said the dogs, many with matted hair, were found in horrible living conditions. A couple of them were even stuck together by matted hair. All of the dogs were living in cages which were stacked on top of each other. Some of the dogs in the lower cages were covered in feces from the animals above.
"They also said there were dead animals in the cages with live animals," said Wachter. "I don't know if they've ever walked on the ground, or felt the grass. They obviously have never been in air conditioning."
Now comes the monumental task of examing all these dogs and checking for medical problems and worms.
"This is just a de-wormer, these guys probably do have worms, but we haven't run a fecal on them yet," said Chris Mitchell of the Broward Humane Society.
Humane Society staff members are spending Monday bathing all of the animals and then the vets will check them out. Some of the newcomers could be available for adoption as early as Tuesday, but that hasn't stopped animal lovers from coming in already.
"He's so pretty. I'm in love with this dog," said Jessica Love who is looking for a dog to adopt.
Jessica Love heard the dogs were coming in and headed right over.
"I just wanted to come and look at the old dogs before the new dogs came in. You gotta give everybody a chance, right?"
The Broward Humane Society was contacted to assist in the rescue because of the large number of animals involved � more than 700 were rescued from the Pine Bluff Kennels, which was raided last Wednesday. Most of the dogs spent their lives in cramped cages, producing litters for pet stores and to be sold over the Internet.
The removal of these 700 dogs from the Hickman County, Tenn. property marks the biggest puppy mill rescue in state history.
Wachter said the Broward shelter is now in need of blankets, shampoo, towels, paper towels and toys for the dogs. The Humane Society will also accept monetary donations to help with the cost of the trip and medical expenses. If you would like to help, donations can be dropped off at:
The Humane Society Of Broward County
2070 Griffin Road
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33312
(954) 989-3977 | Source: CBS 4 - June 30, 2008
Update posted on Jun 30, 2008 - 12:32PM |
They were living in filth with little to eat and little or no exercise. But experts say many of the nearly 700 dogs rescued from a Nashville area puppy mill Wednesday are adoptable. Some of them have been brought to the Atlanta Humane Society where they will be put up for adoption early next week.
It's being described as the largest puppy mill raid in Tennessee history. Humane Society officials say the dogs were stuffed into small cages, given little to eat, and shared space with very ill and even dead dogs. The Humane Society says a total of 682 dogs, 25 cats, 23 horses, four parrots and 13 chickens were seized from the farm. Twelve animals were found dead on the property.
Saturday, 150 of the survivors began a new life that starts at the atlanta humane society.
"It's the first time they've been in air conditioning. We're going to make it cool and quiet and start the vetting process tomorrow," Humane Society President Carl Leveridge said.
He even went to Hickman County, Tenn. to help rescue the animals.
"It's just like an assembly line," he said. "Breed and have puppies. Breed and have puppies. It's a sad situation."
He says the mostly small purebred dogs have surprisingly good temperaments. The animals will be up for adoption starting Tuesday after they are cleaned up, spayed and neutered, and given plenty of T.L.C. | Source: 11 Alive - June 28, 2008
Update posted on Jun 28, 2008 - 11:16PM |
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