~ Update: November 23, 2025
On November 19, 2025, JUDY LYNN DUBOIS (pictured), was found guilty of eight misdemeanor charges.
Following a day of testimony, the jury returned the verdict after deliberating for less than half an hour.
DUBOIS, owner of Du Bois Rescue, was arrested on May 2, 2024, after dozens of dogs were seized from her home on April 11, 2024, by Leon County Animal Control. All the dogs were removed due to the inadequate sheltering, and the unsafe and unsanitary conditions.
As prosecutors rightfully pointed out during the trial, DUBOIS had “every opportunity to give these dogs to a rescue” so that they could have received proper care.
Sentencing is scheduled for December 1, 2025. DUBOIS was ordered to remain behind bars until sentencing.
Leon County authorities arrested 57-year-old JUDY LYNN DUBOIS (pictured), owner of Du Bois Rescue.
According to an official document obtained by Voice For Us, on April 11, 2024, Leon County Animal Control along with Leon County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to DUBOIS’ home on Sparrow Road to conduct a welfare check “to ensure the well-being and proper treatment of animals at the location.”
Officers found many dogs in deplorable conditions and discovered several ordinance violations.
Officers saw a dog, identified as Roxy, an 8-year-old female Rottweiler mix, who was “running at large and unleashed in the roadway.” Roxy was then safely placed in one of the Animal Control vehicles.
As officers further approached the property, they could smell a strong odor of feces. Outside, in small wire crates, were two dogs, a 3-month-old Great Dane named Trick and a 2-year-old Beagle named Annie. “Both had matted fur, no clean or accessible food or water, and were standing in a large amount of their own waste”, stated the document.
Annie and Trick were not the only dogs who were found in inhumane conditions. In facts officials discovered fifty-seven (57) more dogs in a similar state.
The dogs were being kept in wire cages that “were not properly enclosed with walls and a roof and were inadequate to protect the animals from weather conditions.”
The document further stated that some of the dogs “were observed in small cages, crusted with filth, and without clean or accessible food or water.”
According to the document, “Due to the inadequate sheltering and the unsafe and unsanitary conditions” all the dogs were removed and were taken to the overcrowded Tallahassee-Leon County Animal Service Center (TLCASC) where they were evaluated and treated by staff.
Dr. Rachel Barton, chief veterinarian at TLCASC, performed a forensic exam on Roxy and found her to be infected with heartworm disease.
Annie was found to have dental calculus, overgrown nails, a dirty coat, and appeared to have a surgically removed left eye. She was also found to be infected with intestinal parasites and heartworms.
Trick was found with red, inflamed, irritated feet, and was found to have a significant breakdown of the ligaments and tendons of his front feet and wrists.
Several other dogs were also found to have heartworms, intestinal parasites, flea infestations, overgrown nails, dental tartar, and fur coats crusted with feces.
Dr. Barton “concluded that the dogs were housed in filthy, unsanitary and inhumane conditions and were subjected to unnecessary and prolonged suffering.”
DUBOIS was arrested on May 2, 2024, and booked into the Leon County Detention Facility.
She is facing five criminal charges of animal cruelty and five more charges of confining animals without sufficient food or water.
On May 22, 2024, when DUBOIS appears back in court, a judge will determine if she is fit to care for the animals or if they have to be turned over and placed in the county's custody.
According to the Leon County Attorney’s Office there are other animals at DUBOIS’ home.
On a separate note, I learned from an email received by the Leon County Attorney’s Office that Leon County Animal Control has responded to Sparrow Road in the past. In fact, “Since 2016, Leon County Animal Control officers have responded 54 times to various reports.”
DUBOIS has been cited for violations in the past.
Disclaimer: This story is sourced from an official document provided to Voice For Us from the Leon County Attorney’s Office. Please note that details may be removed or new information added should updates become available.
In the case of charges being dropped, dismissed, or the case being purged, this article will be rectified accordingly, if official documentation is provided to Voice For Us.
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DUBOIS’ mugshot shared from the Leon County Jail
