More than 100 dogs removed from northwest Indiana home
February 16, 2012 1:52AM
Updated: February 16, 2012 2:25AM
More than 100 dogs have been removed from a home of a woman arrested on animal-neglect charges in northwest Indiana, officials said.
On Wednesday, 20 adult dogs and three puppies were seized from the home in the 100 block of East County Road 1400N in Westchester Township near Chesterton, officials said.
Overall, Porter County Sheriff’s Police and Animal Control officers have taken control of 105 dogs from the home since last month.
Donna Montoya was arrested on a warrant for 11 counts of neglect of an animal and three counts of harboring a nonimmunized dog; all are misdemeanors.
On Jan. 11 and 12, police served a search warrant at Montoya’s home after neighbors complained of the number of dogs and conditions inside and outside of the house, including their worries that feces may be contaminating water in the area.
The warrant outlined a lack of food, water and vaccinations, and the problems of diseased dogs and the animals attacking each other. Montoya had relinquished seven puppies to the animal shelter the week before, and officials seized 75 dogs in the two days. Three people were bitten in the process.
The 23 dogs seized Wednesday morning had been left in the home because the number of dogs overwhelmed the temporary shelter and foster families the Porter County Animal Shelter had lined up before the warrant was executed.
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