Case Report

Plymouth County Deputies searched the property of Bonita Dow on Tuesday, seizing nearly 90 animals after receiving an anonymous tip. Dow owns a small acreage near Akron, Iowa. Officers immediately confiscated all the animals on the property after an inspection and recommendation by a vet.

Now more than half of the animals are being cared for at the Siouxland Humane Society. Workers say the house had been abandoned years ago and most of the animals kept there were being held in kennels or cages that were too small for them.

Authorities say the animals also weren't being properly fed, watered and were up to their elbows in filth.

Jerry Dominicak, of the Siouxland Humane Society said, "What the animals were being fed is what they were living on. It had built up on the bottom of their cages and kennels and the only place they had to eat, sleep, live and try to walk around was on their own feces."

The Plymouth County Attorney's Office has not decided yet whether to file negligence charges against Dow. They're waiting to get back written reports from veterinarians caring for the animals.

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