In the meantime, CARES of Burien is incurring significant unanticipated costs for boarding the dogs, which were removed from the home Oct. 6, including veterinary expenses for emergency care for four of the animals and euthanizing nine others that were too sick to recover.
“We’re a non-profit working on this and our budget is tight as it is,” CARES Director Debra George told The B-Town Blog. “So any financial help would be appreciated.” Individuals may donate to CARES of Burien at any Sterling Savings Bank.
CARES (Community Animal Resource and Education Society) became Burien’s contract provider of animal care and control services in June, operating with $120,000 in funding from the city.
The dogs not requiring emergency care currently are being boarded at area veterinary clinics and PJ’s Pet Ranch in SeaTac.
George said they want “to find good homes for these dogs that will be positive both for the pets and their owners. They deserve nothing less – “the dogs had not been outside in years. They were all in small traveling pet crates in the basement … the neighbors had never seen them.”
King County Sheriff’s detectives, members of the sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit, and animal control officers raided the home in the 1300 block of SW 120th St. Thursday evening (Oct. 6).
They found 38 Chihuahua, Pomeranian, and Chin dogs hoarded there “in relatively poor health and kept in extremely dirty dog crates,” sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart reported. “A man at the residence said the majority of the dogs were his, and claimed some were show dogs.”
Detectives and animal control officer subsequently served a search warrant at a residence in Issaquah, where they found another 62 dogs in relatively good health and in clean crates. They were taken to Regional Animal Services of King County.
Burien Police Sgt. Henry McLauchlan told The B-Town Blog they “received a tip and off we went. Burien detectives took the initiative and we started to coordinate the investigation with the sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit.”
In his news release, Urquhart said that tip came from Pasado’s Safe Haven after they were tipped off “about conditions at the Burien house and gathered additional information. That, coupled with our investigation, led to a search warrant.”
“This was a very quick and coordinated effort by all involved,” said Burien Police Chief Scott Kimerer. “My thanks to Burien’s CARES staff, the sheriff’s office, and the Regional Animal Services of King County staff. Everyone worked well into the night on this investigation.”
McLauchlan, who participated in the rescue, likewise gave “credit to everybody involved, “Pasado’s Safe Haven for making the effort and doing all they did, CARES of Burien, the Major Crimes Unit, and especially Burien detectives and King County Animal Control.”George said the surviving dogs were being cleaned at a local groomer – Posh Paws in Burien – and “will be available for adoption hopefully [this] week.
“I think my staff and volunteers did an excellent job of handling this situation,” George continued. “All the agencies involved worked together very well. I’m very proud of my staff. They did a great job in a very tragic situation. It was very hard on them.”The sheriff’s office investigation is continuing, and felony and/or misdemeanor charges are possible.