83 dogs recovered from 'despicable conditions' at 3 Utah County properties, police say

SPANISH FORK — Utah County law enforcement recovered 83 dogs from three locations last week as part of an animal cruelty investigation.

On March 31, the Utah County Sheriff's Office received an anonymous tip that dogs were being mistreated at a home on River Bottoms Road just outside of Spanish Fork.

A deputy went to the home and talked with the 38-year-old homeowner who said she was a dog breeder. The deputy later saw two puppies sitting in their own feces in small kennels in the kitchen, said Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon. The woman said the puppies were prescribed medication and being treated by a veterinarian, but when the deputy contacted the veterinarian, he said he was not treating the dogs and no medications had been prescribed, Cannon said.

As the deputy continued to investigate, he found that a large shed on the property near Spanish Fork housed multiple dogs in small, outdoor kennels. "They had no water, no food and appeared to be malnourished. He could also smell the odor of feces coming from the shed," according to a sheriff's office press release.

Authorities later learned that the homeowner had other properties in Orem and Provo, and dozens of dogs were at those properties, Cannon said. On April 14, police and animal control workers from Provo, Orem, Springville, Payson and others helped in serving search warrants on all three properties simultaneously.

Cannon told KSL.com that the dogs were living in "despicable conditions," with dirty kennel floors and numerous dogs were covered in feces.

A total of 83 dogs were recovered from the properties, as 55 dogs were recovered from the property near Spanish Fork, 26 in Provo and two in Orem. Of the 55 dogs recovered near Spanish Fork, Cannon said 10 were puppies that were only a few weeks old. After the dogs were recovered, four were tested for giardia and came back positive. Rather than test all of them, a veterinarian ordered that all the dogs be treated for giardia, the sheriff's office said. Some had eye infections.

"Describing the conditions of the kennels, such as they were, at all three locations is difficult. Many of the dogs had no regular access to water. When given water, a couple of the dogs drank voraciously then immediately got sick. Many appeared to have no regular access to food," the press release states. "It appeared that most, if not all, of the kennels hadn't been cleaned for an extended period – if they had ever been cleaned at all."

Cannon said many involved in the operation described the conditions as "deplorable."

"As the dogs were catalogued and photographed, most of them seemed thrilled to have the attention and they tried climbing on those holding them. Several people said their clothing or uniforms they were wearing had to be destroyed because of this contact with the dogs. And these are the conditions in which these 83 dogs were living," the sheriff's office said.

Utah County's two animal shelters are close to overwhelmed with the recovered animals, according to the sergeant. The 28 dogs found in the Provo and Orem locations were taken to the North Utah Valley Animal Shelter, while the other 55 recovered from Spanish Fork were taken to the South Utah Valley Animal Shelter. As of Friday, the animals were not yet available for adoption.

The homeowner had not been arrested or charged with any crime as of Friday, though Cannon said she could face potential felony animal cruelty or other charges.

The day before to the warrants were served, police noticed that the homeowner's husband, 48, was at the Orem property. He was wanted by the FBI and had an outstanding warrant, and was taken into custody without incident, according to the sheriff's office.

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