10 dead dogs, 7 mistreated found in trash-filled home

BOCA RATON — From the outside, the lime green home on West Camino Real Road in Boca Raton seemed normal.

Neighbors didn’t learn until Thursday morning, after watching Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control agents emerge from the home in hazmat suits and gas masks, that inside were 10 dead dogs; seven mistreated, but living dogs; and heaps of trash.

Animal Care and Control, with help from the Boca Raton Police Department, investigated the home after an anonymous animal abuse tip came in on Aug. 22.

A woman who lives at the home, who authorities haven’t iden- tified, did not cooperate when agents initially visited to investigate, said Sgt. Dave Walesky of Animal Care and Control.

“We returned with a search warrant two days later,” Walesky said.

Trash in the home was at least 3 feet high, and the air conditioning system didn’t work, so the one-story home had no ventilation, Walesky said.

“The house is very consistent with hoarding, not only animals but with trash and debris,” he said “The house was very hard to walk through.”

Investigators were pulling the dog cages out of the home in protective gear and large gas masks, said Joel Caputo, a neighbor of two years.

“I’ve never even seen her walk a dog,” he said of his neighbor.

Several neighbors have pets of their own, and the neighborhood is known to be dog-friendly, said Caputo, who has three pups.

Criminal charges are being sought against the woman, Walesky said. The condition of the seven living dogs is unknown, but the home was in “deplorable condition” before the animals were taken into custody for treatment.

An elderly man also lives at the home, Walesky said, but it is unclear whether he faces any criminal repercussions. Neighbors say they are siblings.

Michael Brown, who has lived directly across the street for nearly five years, was shocked to learn of the conditions.

“Once in a while I hear a dog bark, but nothing crazy,” said Brown, who has two dogs of his own. “I imagined maybe one small dog, but nothing this crazy.”

Brown didn’t know the neighbors personally, he said. “They mainly kept to themselves.”

The home always appeared to be well-kept from the outside, too, he added. It’s surrounded by a white picket fence, so neighbors couldn’t see beyond the front of the home. Planted on the white fence, a sign reads: “Warning. Guard dogs.”

“Everything seemed normal,” Brown said. “They even had Christmas decorations during the holidays.”