Chuck Ray/WEMB
One of the 16 animals waits to be removed from their cramped living conditions in Limestone Cove.‘Puppy mill’ closed in Limestone Cove area
Worst case in area so far
April 08, 2008
Last Tuesday, the Unicoi County Sheriff’s Department, along with the animal control officers, removed 16 animals from their Limestone Cove location for placement with the animal shelter.
Leanna Dippold of the animal shelter was on a completely different call Monday afternoon, when she noticed that 16 Shar-Pei dogs were being kept in inadequate living conditions at 2129, Highway 107, in Unicoi.
When she first arrived, she noticed that the animals in some of the pens had no food and very little water, if any. After investigating the area, neighbors told her that the house was indeed running a “puppy mill.”
A puppy mill is a breeding space for specific breeds of dogs or other animals. Once born, the animals are sold. Full-blooded Shar-Peis can be sold for as much as $600. Dippold told The Beacon that this particular mill was not running its operation the way state law requires. One must first have a license issued by the state, which the site did not have, and the animals must be given proper care. They just put the animals into pens, and left them on their own. “All they were in it for was the money,” Dippold added.
The owner of the property, Judy Shell, 56, could not be found at first, but after asking her son Jason Shell, it was learned from sources that she was a patient at the Johnson City Medical Center.
Ms. Shell has had several medical problems over the past year, and for this reason, she has not been able to take care of her animals. She believed that her son had been taking care of the dogs, and didn’t know how badly the dogs needed care.
The District Attorney’s office agreed that if Shell would sign the dogs over to the Unicoi County Animal Shelter, charges would not be placed. Dippold said that her medical problems were the main reason why charges were not brought against her.
When arriving at the scene one could see that the animals’ living conditions were very bad. “I wouldn’t let pigs live this way,” Dippold commented.
Capt. Estil Edwards said that this was the worst case he has ever seen in his entire career, and he has been in law enforcement since 1986. Edwards said he could not believe how someone could treat an animal in this inhumane way.
Edwards went on to say that the filth and lack of properly feeding the animals were the main reasons why the animal shelter took the animals. It is believed that the problems began well over a year ago.
Dippold said that there are more cases like this in the area, but now that there are animal control officers patrolling, the problems will be corrected. People don’t like animals being abused. If residents call and make reports, the Animal Control personnel will catch them. If arrested, one could receive a jail sentence. The first offense is a misdemeanor, and the second offense is a Class A felony.
All 16 dogs, after being taken to the animal shelter, seemed to calm down. They were transported to rescue services in the surrounding area early Saturday morning. The rescue groups will be paying all expenses. This includes food, living arrangements, and needed medical treatment.
