Owner faces animal neglect charges

NORTH ALBANY n About 70 small dogs and puppies were removed from a Benton County home Monday afternoon by Benton County Sheriff’s Office deputies, and their owner, Carol Brower, is facing charges of second-degree animal neglect.

Kerry Mullin, executive director of Heartland Humane Society, was on site Monday afternoon with a crew of staff and volunteers to help remove the dogs. Mullin said the living conditions inside the mobile home were horrendous.

“There’s tons of feces and lots of dogs,” Mullin said. “There are multiple adults mixed in with puppies.”

“This is the second-worst I’ve seen in 16 years,” Benton County Animal Control Officer Rich Wendland said.

Mullin said the walls of the home were eaten by the dogs, and that holes in the floor allowed the dogs to move in and out. Rat feces and household chemicals littered the home, causing an unsafe environment for dogs and humans alike. Mullin characterized the home as uninhabitable, and said there was little furniture other than a bed.

There appeared to be adequate food and water for the animals, but many of the dogs had matted fur, and Mullin witnessed dogs fighting with each other on the property, where most roamed unleashed and uncaged within the fenced yard and the house.

Law enforcement and local humane societies have known about Brower and her dogs for at least three years.

“Different agencies have tried to work with her over time,” Mullin said.

Years ago, Mullin said, it appeared that Brower was willing to work with enforcement agencies. She turned over some of her dogs to Heartland, and seemed cooperative.

“It kind of felt like forward momentum,” Mullin said.

More recently, the problem appeared to be worse, and conditions were such that the Benton County Sheriff’s Office decided to get involved. After being told she had to improve the conditions for her animals, she and her dogs relocated to Linn County.

When Albany Animal Control was about to get involved with Brower, she moved back across county lines to her North Albany home again, Mullin said.

During the move, Brower believed something had been stolen from her, and she called Benton County sheriff’s deputies to her North Albany property. There, deputies saw the conditions of the home, and documented them.

Based on what they saw, Benton County sheriff’s department filed an affidavit for a search warrant, which they executed on Monday.

“It is a very carefully planned situation,” Mullin said. “We don’t want to do it wrong.”

When sheriff’s deputies and Heartland representatives first arrived on the scene, Brower refused to come out of her house. It wasn’t until deputies cut the lock on the front gate that she came outside.

After that, however, she worked with investigators. Patrol Deputy Randy Hiner said Brower was being cooperative. As she walked around her property, talking with Hiner and Lt. Greg Ridler, and Wendland, she held a tiny Yorkie to her chest. She did not respond to requests for comment from the Gazette-Times.

Because it is a criminal investigation, the living conditions and each dog had to be carefully photographed and catalogued. Then the dogs were transported in crates to Heartland, where two veterinarians were waiting to examine them.

Brower advertises herself as a dog breeder on-line, and Mullin said she would tell clients that she would not meet them at her home, because she wanted to protect her privacy.

That is always a warning sign, Mullin said.

“If you’re going to buy a dog from a breeder, you have to see where they were living,” Mullin said.

On a Web site, Brower advertised her Yorktese puppies, and claimed they were “Home raised in Oregon and cared for every day — Current shots and well socialized.”

Mullin disputed that characterization. “These dogs were clearly unsocialized,” she said. Although some of the dogs were mildly friendly, they shied away from leashes. Others exhibited nervous or neurotic behavior, and Mullin was bit from behind at one point.

Brower was not a licensed breeder, and there was no evidence of rabies vaccinations or that the dogs individually were licensed.

While Brower could face jail time, Hiner said she’s more likely to be ordered not to possess animals in the future. Because of the condition of her home, a report is also being sent to the Benton County Health Department, which could investigate further.

The animals cannot be adopted unless Brower is tried and convicted. For now, Heartland is in desperate need of foster families willing to take in dogs temporarily, Mullin said. People who are interested in fostering animals can go to the Heartland Web site at www.heartlandhumane.org and download a foster care form, or call 757-9000.

Late Monday afternoon, more and more dogs were being transported out of the home. Mullin hopes that the dogs can find stable, safe homes, but was troubled that the raid had to happen.

“This is not the way any humane society wants to do this,” Mullin said.

Gazette-Times reporter Gwyneth Gibby contributed to this story.