- Florida, USA -
On Saturday, August 8, a man called 911 reporting that his friend was being attacked by three dogs.
Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, Animal Enforcement Officers (AEO), and Hernando County Fire and Emergency Services (HCFES) responded to 5370 California Street in Brooksville to investigate.
Later, another call came to 911 and the caller said that two of three dogs attacking the man, had run off, and the other one was being contained in a travel trailer on the property.
The man who had been attacked by the dogs, told First Responders that he was there because he had been visiting a friend and as he was leaving, he heard puppies whimpering.
He claimed that as he was following the sound to figure out where the puppies were, he was attacked by the adult dogs.
The two furbabies who ran off were described as two black and white male Pitbull-mix, and the one in the trailer as a red female Pitbull-mix.
Animal Enforcement Officers and Patrol Deputies caught the male dogs reporting they were being aggressive.
As officers tried to impound the female dog, they also reported her being aggressive.
She was emaciated with her hip, back, and rib bones showing.
While attempting to confine her, AEOs heard puppies whimpering and then saw one on the floor of the trailer.
The poor baby was warm to the touch and soaked with sweat.
He was placed in the cab of the AEO’s vehicle to lower the body temperature.
Firefighters and AEOs then removed the rest of the puppies from the travel trailer.
A total of seven puppies were removed.
All of them were warm to the touch.
They were panting profusely; they were wet with sweat and whimpering.
All of the puppies were placed together in the air-conditioned cab of the AEO’s vehicle and transported, along with their mother, to Hernando County Animal Services (HCAS).
Inside the trailer there was no food or water for the adult dogs and the puppies and the temperature inside was registered at 108 degrees, even after the door had been open for 30 minutes.
The following day, AEOs went back to the scene to speak with witnesses and while they were there, the guardian of the dogs and puppies, 43-year-old COLLEEN LEE MEYER (pictured below), arrived.
She asked AEOs how many puppies were removed the day before and they told seven.
She then told them she had eight puppies.
So, AEOs went back into the trailer and found the eighth puppy under a piece of a furniture.
He was also taken to HCAS and was reunited with mom and siblings.
COLLEEN LEE MEYER was issued citations for Animal Bite, Mistreatment, and Unrestrained Animal.
Charges for animal cruelty are pending.
The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office listed in a Facebook post all the furbabies removed from the property:
· Adult Female – Pit/Mix – Red
· Adult Male – Pit/Mix – Black & White
· Adult Male – Pit/Mix – Black & White
· Puppy Female – Pit/Mix – Blue/White Nose
· Puppy Female – Pit/Mix – Blue/White Chest
· Puppy Female – Pit/Mix – Blue/White Chest
· Puppy Female – Pit/Mix – Black
· Puppy Male – Pit/Mix – Blue
· Puppy Male – Pit/Mix – Tan/Black Face
· Puppy Male – Pit/Mix – Blue
· Puppy Male – Pit/Mix – Black
A later update posted by the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office advises that on Wednesday, August 12, Honorable Judge Donald Barbee issued an arrest warrant for MEYER charging her with nine counts of animal cruelty for leaving one adult female dog and eight newborn puppies unattended in an enclosed and unventilated travel trailer with no air conditioning, food, or water.
The temperature inside the travel trailer was extreme.
Later on the same day, Deputy Harsanyi was conducting Traffic Enforcement on Wiscon Road in Brooksville when he saw MEYER driving a vehicle that had a broken windshield so he pulled her over.
Inside the vehicle there was a gray adult male Pitbull-mix in the passenger seat.
Deputy Harsanyi realized that the furbaby was unaccounted for from the investigation.
An AEO was called in and took possession of the dog and took him to Hernando County Animal Services for quarantine purposes.
Deputy Harsanyi read MEYER her Miranda rights.
She was transported to the Hernando County Detention Center.