California couple pleads guilty after more than 170 dogs found in filthy home
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A California couple has pleaded guilty to hoarding more than 170 Yorkshire terriers and Yorkie mix dogs in mice-infested, filthy conditions that one attorney has described as a “disturbing case of animal abuse.”
Christine Calvert and Mark Vattimo, of Poway, entered pleas Monday to animal neglect. They face probation and counseling and can't own pets for a decade.
COMPULSIVE HOARDER FOUND CRUSHED TO DEATH UNDER TRASH PILE
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Investigators who went to their Poway home in January found dozens of dogs in a dark room. The floor and walls were covered in excrement, and the dogs had a variety of problems, including fleas, poor teeth, overgrown nails and matted hair.
One dog was missing part of a leg, Fox 5 reported.
“The shocking conditions and sheer number of animals in the defendants’ home make this a particularly disturbing case of animal abuse,” District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis had said in February.
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WOMAN WANTED FOR ANIMAL ABUSE CHARGES FOUND WITH 42 CATS IN HER CAR
About 30 dogs were seized later at another location and another 46 were found in a motor home in Primm, Nevada, where Calvert was arrested after fleeing the state.
The dogs — including puppies born to some of the animals — were put up for adoption.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.