Frozen alive: Court docs detail puppy mill horrors
GOLD BAR, Wash. -- Prosecutors on Thursday filed animal cruelty charges against a couple suspected of helping run a large puppy mill operation that left hundreds of dogs living in pain and filth.
Serenna Lynn Larsen and Jason Dean Larsen were each charged in Snohomish County Superior Court with six counts of first-degree animal cruelty.
The two were living at a home in the 43000 block of May Creek Road that police raided on January 16.
In charging documents, prosecutors wrote that investigators found fecal matter "throughout every room of the home," and one deputy described it as "noxious, overwhelming, and utterly disgusting."
The court documents detail the deplorable conditions in which 155 dogs were found.
Officers found crates of dogs stacked on top of each other, with garbage and excrement piled up to five feet high in some areas. Parts of the kitchen and living room ceiling were collapsing after being soaked with animal urine, prosecutors said.
A veterinarian who examined the dogs said all were infested with fleas and parasites, and suffering from dehydration and lack of food. Many of the dogs had severe injuries or infections, including skin lesions and ruptured eyes.
Most of the animals were living in their own waste, trapped in small cages without food or water.
"By neglecting to treat these conditions, the animals were allowed to suffer in pain," the veterinarian wrote.
In a freezer in the home, police found four dead puppies. In charging documents, a veterinarian said one of the dogs appears to have been alive when it was placed in the freezer.
Investigators also found a high-frequency device that had been installed to keep the dogs from barking.
Of the more than 150 dogs found alive on the property, seven were in such poor condition that they had to be euthanized.
In interviews with investigators, Jason and his wife said they been breeding dogs since 2007 and admitted that they "were in way over our head," according to court documents. The Larsens told detectives they had started by breeding 28 dogs.
Jason told police they were breeding the dogs for another person who paid them.
Sixty five of the dogs seized from the Larsens were adopted at a mass adoption fair hosted by the Everett Animal Shelter. The rest remain in foster care.
The Larsens remain free. They will be arraigned on May 15.
The case involving the Larsens is part of a broad investigation spanning two counties that has already resulted in charges against another couple, Marjorie and Richard Sundberg, who were accused of running a similar puppy mill operation.
In prior court filings, one of the Sundbergs' two daughters was accused hiring Jason and Serenna Larsen to breed dogs at the kennel in Gold Bar.
Serenna Lynn Larsen and Jason Dean Larsen were each charged in Snohomish County Superior Court with six counts of first-degree animal cruelty.
The two were living at a home in the 43000 block of May Creek Road that police raided on January 16.
In charging documents, prosecutors wrote that investigators found fecal matter "throughout every room of the home," and one deputy described it as "noxious, overwhelming, and utterly disgusting."
The court documents detail the deplorable conditions in which 155 dogs were found.
Officers found crates of dogs stacked on top of each other, with garbage and excrement piled up to five feet high in some areas. Parts of the kitchen and living room ceiling were collapsing after being soaked with animal urine, prosecutors said.
A veterinarian who examined the dogs said all were infested with fleas and parasites, and suffering from dehydration and lack of food. Many of the dogs had severe injuries or infections, including skin lesions and ruptured eyes.
Most of the animals were living in their own waste, trapped in small cages without food or water.
"By neglecting to treat these conditions, the animals were allowed to suffer in pain," the veterinarian wrote.
In a freezer in the home, police found four dead puppies. In charging documents, a veterinarian said one of the dogs appears to have been alive when it was placed in the freezer.
Investigators also found a high-frequency device that had been installed to keep the dogs from barking.
Of the more than 150 dogs found alive on the property, seven were in such poor condition that they had to be euthanized.
In interviews with investigators, Jason and his wife said they been breeding dogs since 2007 and admitted that they "were in way over our head," according to court documents. The Larsens told detectives they had started by breeding 28 dogs.
Jason told police they were breeding the dogs for another person who paid them.
Sixty five of the dogs seized from the Larsens were adopted at a mass adoption fair hosted by the Everett Animal Shelter. The rest remain in foster care.
The Larsens remain free. They will be arraigned on May 15.
The case involving the Larsens is part of a broad investigation spanning two counties that has already resulted in charges against another couple, Marjorie and Richard Sundberg, who were accused of running a similar puppy mill operation.
In prior court filings, one of the Sundbergs' two daughters was accused hiring Jason and Serenna Larsen to breed dogs at the kennel in Gold Bar.