Aug 12, 2009 5:59 pm US/Central
Suspected Puppy Mill Owners Say Dogs Were Family
Arezow Doost
KAUFMAN COUNTY (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
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Humane Society of the United States/KTVT / KTXA
The owners of the suspected puppy mill in Kaufman County are defending themselves after close to 600 dogs and cats are rescued from their property.
"They have been my life for 50 years," said Margaret Boyd.
Boyd says she was feeding and taking care of her animals when deputies with the Kaufman County Sheriff's Department came in along with
The Humane Society of the United States and started taking her pets away. The family says they've been breeding for 50 years and have never mistreated their pets. They say the animals were never caged.
"There is no way that my animals have been abused, hurt or mistreated," explained Boyd.
Close to 600 dogs and cats were rescued from the Boyd"s property and taken to a temporary shelter about 20 miles away. The dogs were mostly poodles and chihuahuas. The Humane Society of the United States says they were in some of the worst conditions they've ever seen.
"We are finding a lot of skin problems and malnutrition problems," explained Veterinarian Dr. James O'Bryan.
Volunteers have been working around the clock to clean and feed the animals. They say the dogs are calmer and more comfortable.
"For the first time these dogs had a chance to become the dogs they could never be," said Scotlund Haisley with the Humane Society of the United States.
Haisley says he has trouble believing the Boyd's were taking care of the animals properly. He says two people for all the animals is not adequate.
Margaret, 72, says she went to the Human Society of Cedar Creek to ask them for help.
"My puppies have not been selling. I didn't ask them to give me food I asked them to trade me food," said Boyd.
Boyd says she would have paid them back once her puppies started selling.
Investigators say that's what launched an investigation. There is a hearing on Friday which will determine custody of the animals. The Boyd's plan on being there and telling the judge they did nothing wrong.
"They are my life. They sleep in bed with me," explained Boyd "I got 10 to 15 that sleep in bed with me every night.
The Humane Society says the hearing will determine what happens next. They animals are not ready for adoption yet, however, if you want to donate cleaning supplies, small blankets or money you can bring it to the Kaufman County Fair Grounds. The Humane Society says it cost upwards 70 thousand dollars to carry out a rescue like this one in Kaufman County.
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