~ Update: September 5, 2022
The Nye County Sheriff’s Office confirmed dogs are buried on the Amargosa Valley property where VASILI PLATUNOV and OKSANA DMITRIEVNA HIGGINS (pictured), were running a dog breeding business.
Nye County Sheriff Sharon Wehrly said that on Thursday, September 1, 2022, ASPCA Forensic Investigators and Nye County Sheriff’s Office Investigators returned to the property to execute a warrant to excavate possible burial sites.
Investigators discovered several dogs’ carcasses who were in various stages of decomposition.
In a video posted on Facebook, Sheriff Wehrly said that on the evening of August 25, 2022, deputies executed a warrant on the Pahrump property and removed an additional twenty-five dogs. She further said that while PLATUNOV and HIGGINS were in custody on previous charges, they were re-booked “on multiple additional felony animal abuse charges.”
While the sheriff’s office posts regular updates on this horrific animal cruelty case, I want to join Sheriff Wehrly in thanking all the agencies and organizations that are coming together to deal with the multiple aspects of this case.
Updates will be published as they become available.
The Nye County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of 55-years-old VASILI PLATUNOV and 55-years-old OKSANA DMITRIEVNA HIGGINS (both pictured), for felony animal abuse and neglect.
The sheriff’s office said that the arrest is the result of an investigation which also led to the execution of a search warrant on a property in Amargosa Valley from which approximately 300 dogs were removed.
The sheriff’s office said in a statement: “This investigation will continue for the next several days and it is anticipated that several additional charges will be added. A more detailed release will be published as soon as we can.”
The nonprofit Nevada Voters for Animals, posted on their Facebook page heartbreaking pictures of Bodan, a 3-year-old male Caucasian Shepherd, who passed away, and said: “This cruelty has been going on for YEARS in Nye County but Bodan's EXTREME & Horrific condition was finally the tipping point for Nye County Officials. We are grateful Est Alpha Kennel owner Vasili Platunov and Oksana Higgins have finally been arrested for Felony Animal Cruelty for their MASSIVE SCALE CRUELTY & NEGLECT.”
Nevada Voters for Animals also wrote in a Facebook post: “We have been working on this case for months since we learned there were 300 - 400 Large breed livestock guardian dogs on two properties in Pahrump & Armagosa Valley. When we visited the conditions were shocking. It's hard to wrap your head around the gutwrenching cruelty, starvation, dog fights, breeding, Parvo, horrid conditions, massive amounts of injuries & infection due to fighting for survival.”
After reading Nevada Voters for Animals’ post, I Googled the arrestees’ names and I learned that the facility that the nonprofit was referring to, is actually called “Est-Alfa Caucasian Ovcharka Kennel.” I tried to visit their website but I was not able to open it up.
An article by Pahrump Valley Times published on November 4, 2015, entitled “Business owner wants to house more dogs”, reported that for years PLATUNOV has been breeding Caucasian Ovcharka on his Pahrump property.
Pahrump Valley Times further reported: “But after the number of dogs spiked recently, he had to apply for reconsideration of a conditional use permit that would allow him to increase the number from the original 30. After moving to Nevada from New York, Platunov, a long-time breeder, had a steady pack. The number quickly grew to 131 when people started dropping off their dogs. Now Platunov has dozens of kennels with Caucasian Ovcharkas, Turkish Kangal, Armenian Gampr and Georgian Nagazi that had been left there due to their age, behavioral issues or other reasons.”
According to Pahrump Valley Times, at the end of October 2015, several Nye County officials walked around PLATUNOV’s property where they evaluated its conditions and PLATUNOV was scheduled to appear in front of the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission at a later date.
In 2010, the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit that allowed a commercial kennel in the rural estates zoning district. At the time, PLATUNOV had 16 dogs.
I have also come across an interesting video about PLATUNOV published by KPVM, in May 2021, that I would advise you to watch….
Last but not least, in relation to Est-Alfa Caucasian Ovcharka Kennel, Complaints Board published comments and reviews about the kennel’s “Refusal to return money.”
Voice For Us Disclaimer: This story is sourced from official news outlets. Links included.
Details may be removed or additional information may be provided in future should such sources report an update.
Bodan’s pictures (FOTOPLAY) shared from Nevada Voters for Animals' video
