Owner surrenders dogs seized during raid of suspected drug house in Ypsilanti

Dogs lived in unsanitary conditions

The owner of dogs seized during a March 9, 2018 raid of a suspected drug house in Ypsilanti surrendered them to the Humane Society of Huron Valley.

YPSILANTI, Mich. – The owner of dogs that have been under the care of the Humane Society of Huron Valley since they were seized during a raid in March surrendered the animals May 16.

Nine animals, four puppies and five unsterilized adult dogs, were originally seized March 9, HSHV said. Two days after the raid of the suspected drug house, one of the dogs gave birth to 10 puppies.

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Many of the adults were confined by wire cages in a basement stained with urine and littered with feces. One, a pregnant female, was lying under a bed, HSHV said.

As HSHV cared for the dogs, the owner declined to surrender ownership of the animals twice, even though, by doing so, she was assuming responsibility for boarding and medical treatment fees.

At an initial court date for the criminal and animal cruelty case on May 16, a forfeiture hearing was held. The owner was informed that she owed more than $35,000 for necessary medical treatment and care of the dogs. She was given the opportunity to proceed with hearing, with the understanding that she would need to provide payment of the incurred costs. She decided to forfeit them to HSHV.

The 19 dogs will become available for adoption.

"A big challenge in pursuing animal cruelty charges is the lengthy sheltering time often required. Animals are not meant to live in shelters -- even beautiful, caring ones like HSHV. It’s difficult to keep them healthy and happy over many months and to provide the intensive care puppies need to become well-adjusted companions," said Tanya Hilgendorf, president and CEO of HSHV.

The owner's pretrial hearing is scheduled for June 13.