- Vermont, USA -
Vermont State Police charged 35-years-old JUSTIN WAGNER (pictured below) and 27-years-old DESTINY JENNINGS with animal cruelty.
An investigation into the couple began on August 18, 2021, after police received a complaint about fifteen German shepherds running loose at a home on North Puckerbrush Road in Reading.
Police said in a press release that on October 23, officers executed a search warrant at WAGNER’s home and thirteen German shepherds were found living in unhygienic conditions.
VTDigger reports that police removed from the residence eight adult females, one adult male, and four puppies.
Adam Silverman, a spokesperson for Vermont State Police, said that officers found evidence that the furbabies were being mistreated. They also found “the presence of blood stains and feces, and a dog confined in the barn with limited access to food and water.”
All the VOICELESS VICTIMS are in the care of local humane societies and foster families while the criminal case is pending.
Police said JENNINGS and WAGNER are scheduled to be arraigned on December 21, 2021, at the criminal division of the Vermont Superior Court in White River Junction.
VTDigger attempted to reach the couple for comment. The news outlet sent messages to Green Mountain Shepherds, a business apparently associated with the duo, but there was no response.
This is not the first time that WAGNER was charged with animal cruelty.
On August 18, 2015, the CapeCod published an article about Barnstable Police Officers saving a puppy in distress whom WAGNER and another individual left in their car while they were in a bar drinking, from 5:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m. when the furbaby was finally rescued.
WAGNER was charged with animal cruelty and this incident happened in Massachusetts.
While WAGNER was on probation in relation to the Massachusetts incident, he was arrested in Rhode Island in February 2016.
On February 15, 2016, 10WJAR reported that WAGNER was accused of illegally importing dogs into Rhode Island without valid certificates and operating a pet shop without a license.
When he was arrested, he was in possession of seven 9-week-old Labrador retriever puppies who were dehydrated and infested with worms.
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