33 dogs seized from Sandusky County home
2/8/2010A Sandusky County humane officer responding to a complaint about pigs on the loose at a Rice Township property spotted something more alarming: 33 dogs inside the house living in filth.
“Some were in cages, some were in fenced circles, and they were laying in their own feces and urine,” said Denny Hammond, the officer.
The dogs, which included 15 basset hound pups and four Pomeranian puppies, were removed from a Fangboner Road home occupied by Hoy Compton, 33, and Steve Harris, 47, Friday afternoon and taken to the humane society's shelter in Fremont. Mr. Hammond said he expects to file some 35 animal cruelty and neglect charges against the owners as soon as tomorrow in Sandusky County Court.
The alleged puppy mill was discovered Friday afternoon when a neighbor called to report pigs on the loose in the yard. Mr. Hammond said that after he rounded up the pot-bellied pigs, he knocked on the door and saw the dogs and puppies through the windows. No one was home at the time so he obtained a search warrant to remove the canines.