Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
TABIONA -- A Tabiona man died over the weekend and left behind more than 70 dogs in his small cabin, most of which were poodles and had not been taken care of or fed in more than a week.
The dogs were near death or dead when Duchesne County authorities found them. They were taken to the Roosevelt Animal Shelter, but when it got full the Utah Animal Adoption Center in Salt Lake opened its doors.
The dogs are doing much better than they were just two days ago.
"We were all crying," said Kennel Manager Sharel Reffitt. "When they came in, they couldn't walk because they were so matted up -- just the feces on them -- scared to death and really hungry."
Workers at the adoption center have fed, washed and groomed the 16 poodles they received. "It looked like dreadlocks. It was feces and hair and dirt, everything you could think of, clumped up," said worker Marinda Heninger.
They took off more than 13 pounds of hair. "Some had it hanging past their bodies to where they couldn't walk. Some of them couldn't go to the bathroom because it was blocking off their parts," Heninger said.
The center is also helping a springer-spaniel mix and her three puppies, and a terrier mix with seven puppies.
The dogs' 65-year-old owner Lloyd Junior Weaver was breeding them when he got ill and died. Duchesne County authorities say the dogs had no food or water for at least five days.
"Some of them were found in 12 inches of feces," said JoAnne Ortega, also with the Utah Animal Adoption Center. "He just allowed these dogs to be in his home ... they kept procreating and growing."
"This is one of the worst cases I've ever seen," Heninger said.
The dogs are reacting well to better conditions. Now they just need good homes. "We'll try very, very hard to find them a home," Ortega said.
The dogs' owner had been investigated in the past for unhealthy living conditions for his dogs but had complied with animal control, and the dogs had apparently been healthy.
Weaver's family said in an obituary published in the Uintah Basin Standard newspaper that he died Friday at the Uintah Basin Medical Center in Roosevelt. "He loved poodles, he bred, raised them and showed them in competitions," the obituary said.
Weaver is survived by two sons, five grandchildren, his mother and two sisters.
If you're interested in adopting one of the dogs, visit the Utah Animal Adoption Center's Web site at www.utahanimaladoptioncenter.org
------
Story compiled with contributions from Courtney Orton and Ben Winslow.
