Mother, daughter owned hundreds of dogs found in filthy conditions

Two homes in Skagit and Snohomish counties where authorities seized more than 300 dogs that were living in filth and squalor — some without food or water — in the past week belong to a woman and one of her daughters, authorities said.

Officials with the Skagit County Sheriff's Office estimated that nearly 400 dogs were found Wednesday on property owned by the mother, who lives east of Mount Vernon in Skagit County. Sheriff's deputies seized 150 dogs from the property.

Last Friday, authorities in Snohomish County seized 155 dogs from property owned by the woman's daughter in Gold Bar.

No charges have been filed in connection with the animal seizures, but Snohomish and Skagit County law-enforcement officials say they are investigating and they expect the property owners will face animal-cruelty charges.

The Times is not naming the property owners because they have not been charged.

According to Skagit County Chief Criminal Deputy Will Reichardt, approximately 400 Chihuahuas, shih tzus, poodles, Yorkshire terriers and other small breeds were found on the mother's property in the 16000 block of Mountain View Road. Many of the animals were heavily matted, standing in their own feces and left without food or water, he said in a news release Thursday.

Seven dogs were dead, four required immediate medical care and 20 females were nursing litters of pups, Reichardt said.

Reichardt said 250 dogs that were in better health were left behind. The seized animals were being housed by volunteers or at the Skagit Valley Fairgrounds.

Paula Helinski, who lives across the street from the 5-acre Skagit County home raided Wednesday, said she has worked for years to document what she claims is an illegal dog-breeding operation. She said she hopes authorities throw the book at the owners.

"These rings are huge because, with the Internet, the profits are huge," Helinski said.

Helinski said that until last year the county had no restrictions on the number of dogs a person could own and no regulations governing dog breeding.

"I went crazy when I realized that someone could move in next to me and have 5,000 dogs," Helinski said.

According to Snohomish County Auditor Vicki Lubrin, sheriff's deputies and animal-control officers, acting on a tip, raided a home last Friday in the 43000 block of May Creek Road, near Gold Bar. Lubrin said 155 dogs — mostly small-breed or "designer dogs" — were rescued from the home, which was not registered for dog breeding or selling.

"It was just horrific," Lubrin said after the Gold Bar raid. She said the animals were in "very, very bad shape." They had defects and tumors, and their skin was "crawling with fleas," she said.

The Skagit County property, on Mountain View Road, was raided after a connection was found with the Gold Bar property, according to Sandy Nelson of the Humane Society of Skagit Valley.

"We were so happy when this one was connected to the one in Snohomish [County] and it became very obvious what was going on and, finally, no one could look the other way," Nelson said.

Helinski said the Skagit County property owner "debarked" some dogs and charged about $760 per puppy.

Helinski said she has evidence the owner of the Skagit County property was breeding the dogs there and then selling them to "innocent people" out of her daughter's "nice country home" in Snohomish County.

A second daughter's home was visited by Snohomish County authorities last week, but the 44 dogs found there were in good condition, law-enforcement officials said.

Another 40 dogs were rescued by Skagit County authorities Wednesday in a separate and unrelated raid. Those animals were being held in dirty crates in a home near Mount Vernon, deputies said.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com.

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.