Two women have been sentenced after more than 100 small dogs, cats, birds and kangaroos were found living in squalor at a “house of horrors” puppy farm.
The RSPCA raided the home in South Australia’s Mid-North region before seizing 100 small dogs, 11 kangaroos and 11 cats on November 3, 2020.
Two women, aged in their 60s, were registered dog breeders and lived on site without electricity.
Two dogs and a bird had to be euthanized due to their poor condition.
The women pleaded guilty to 11 counts of animal abuse at Elizabeth Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
Many of the dogs found in the ‘house of horrors’ were unwell (pictured) and had common dental problems and ear infections. Many dogs had to undergo surgery and some required amputations.
The dogs had been abandoned for years (in the photo). The women, in their sixties, who avoided going to prison, lived in the dirty house with the animals. It is disturbing that they were registered dog breeders.
Many of the animals required extensive veterinary treatment, including surgeries and amputations.
The animals were found in kitchen cabinets and in cages stacked on top of each other.
The feces had remained so long that it had hardened on the floor, along with dirt and hair.
One of the kangaroos had a broken leg and there were also ducklings, an acacia bird and an injured magpie.
Other animals had ear infections and many had serious dental problems, and one of them had to have part of its jaw removed.
One of the dogs, which were euthanized, was a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Winston who was missing one eye and had cancer in the other.
Eighty of the animals were seized and the RSPCA issued welfare notices for the remaining animals.
Seventy-seven animals that were not seized were taken to the RSPCA’s Lonsdale shelter to be examined by veterinarians.
The dogs at the seedy joint were popular small breeds: Maltese, Miniature Poodle, Silky Terrier, Chihuahua, Shih Tzu, Pomeranian, Papillon, and King Charles Cavalier Spaniel.
RSPCA South Australia Chief Inspector Andrew Baker called it a “house of horrors” in a statement and one of the “most extreme cases of animal hoarding” the RSPCA has ever seen.
The animals were found everywhere in the house, including on kitchen shelves surrounded by food (pictured).
There were so many animals in the dingy house that the dogs were forced to search for any available space. There was dirt scattered on the walls and excrement, mixed with hair and the dirt had hardened on the floor, making it uneven (pictured)
“These defendants were registered breeders and had previously supplied puppies to pet shops,” he stated.
“Imagine how you would feel if you bought one of those puppies and then learned the conditions in which it was raised and kept.”
RSPCA officers returned to the scene on November 10, 2020, and were confronted with more distressing scenes, including a goat with a broken leg and hungry tortoises.
The RSPCA took all the remaining animals, except four dogs, due to the women’s mental health.
All seized animals have since been rehomed.
The RSPCA said its legal adviser Simon Perrie claimed the offenses were so serious that a prison sentence was required.
However, Perrie believed the prison sentence should be suspended given the women’s age and lack of criminal records.
Magistrate Edward Stratton-Smith agreed and handed the couple a six-month sentence, reduced to three months and 18 days because the women pleaded guilty.
The sentence was suspended with a two-year, $500 good behavior bond.
The women were also ordered to pay $2,000 towards the vet bill, costing the RSPCA $46,000.
All of the dogs were popular small and medium-sized breeds, such as Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. One, named Winston, was missing one eye and had cancer in the other. He had other health problems and had to be put to sleep (pictured, the dogs on the kitchen floor).