Animal Abuse Cases - Details

Puppy Mill - 252 dogs - (Monroe, NC - US)

Crime Date: 04/22/2003
Case Status: Convicted
Case Updates: Available - Click Here
Case Photos: Available - Click Here

Accused:

Naomi Deloris Perez

Case Report

Union County animal control, law enforcement and animal activists seized 252 dogs on April 22 from Naomi Deloris Perez, the owner of an alleged puppy mill that had conditions a sheriff's detective described as horrific. Authorities said the owner was breeding the dogs and selling their puppies for about $400 each. The seizure came after a months-long effort by the county's Humane Society, begun when it received a complaint about a sick puppy. Society members later went to the home posing as dog buyers and took photographs and videos of the site's conditions, Susan Marsh, the county's animal control supervisor said.

Susan Marsh, the county's animal control supervisor, said she had seen similar operations, sometimes known as "puppy mills," but none quite as big.

The idea, Marsh said, is to "breed them as fast as you can, as much as you can and sell them for as much as you can."

The Sheriff's Office on Wednesday issued a criminal summons charging Perez, 77, of 3516 Pageland Highway, with animal cruelty, investigators said. If convicted of the misdemeanor, she could be fined, or sentenced to community service, probation or jail time, Detective John Ingani said.

Meanwhile, the Maltese, Pomeranians, Chihuahuas, Yorkshire terriers, Shih Tzus and mixed breed small dogs are being held at the Animal Shelter, getting veterinary treatment and awaiting temporary placement in foster homes while the case is being resolved. The dogs, ranging in age from one week to 12 years, can't get permanent placements because investigators consider them evidence.

On Monday, they approached the Sheriff's Office with the images.  Around 6 p.m. Tuesday night, Sheriff Eddie Cathey, five officers, shelter staff and Humane Society members entered the approximately 35-acre property with a search warrant and found dogs "packed like eggs in cases," said Ingani.

Dogs were in several trailers and running free in the main house, he said. The team spent the next six hours catching, tagging, photographing and packing up the dogs.

Ingani described the conditions as "wretched, putrid and horrific."

Allegedly, three to four inches of feces coated the floor of the main house, a broken refrigerator sat open containing rotten food, and the smell was overpowering, said Lisa Duray, vice president of the local Humane Society.

Perez's first court date is May 6, but the entire proceedings could take as long as two years, shelter officials said. Perez faced a similar charge in 1993. Union County's District court found her guilty of animal cruelty but the case was dismissed in Superior Court on appeal almost a year later.

The dogs looked ragged. Some had hair matted into dreadlocks, infested with ticks, fleas or lice. Some dogs also have health problems ranging from premature cataracts to malformed legs from the close quarters and bad breeding, Marsh said. Marsh said the dogs weren't malnourished.

About five dogs needed to be euthanized. Staff members are placing the remaining dogs in designated foster homes with veterinarians, groomers and animal rescue volunteers who swarmed the shelter throughout Wednesday, offering their help and living quarters.

Humane society members also tried to return to the home Wednesday to pick up at least three remaining dogs, some cats, a litter of kittens and a parrot, but didn't have another warrant.

Individuals cannot provide foster homes, but the Union County Humane Society is accepting cash to help pay for care. Send checks to:

Humane Society of Union County
P.O. Box 101
Monroe, N.C. 28105

Case Updates

References