Nearly 100 dogs rescued from suspected puppy mill

WASHINGTON, Pa. — Humane agents and law enforcement officials on Wednesday raided a property in Washington County where dozens of dogs were being kept in unclean conditions at a suspected puppy mill, according to officials.

Channel 11 was there Wednesday night as firefighters hosed off the dogs outside of the building.

"Most of them are very friendly they're just scared. They've never been on leashes before. They've never socialized with people much. They need a lot of TLC," Humane Society Officer Mandy Coombs said.

Ninety-one German Shothaired Pointers and one cat were found on a property on Hamilton Acres Lane. Officials say the dogs were living in poor conditions.

"Just sickening. Dirty. Thin. Scared," said Amelia Breitenbach, who rescued a dog in the same area last year that was covered in ticks and near death.

A post on Facebook recently caught her eye.

"I started noticing more German shorthair pointers were showing up in this area," she said. She and others began filing complaints, and Breitenbach even met with a state representative to talk about the issue.

Days later, officials moved in to rescue the animals. The dogs will be adopted out once their conditions improve.

"It didn't appear that anyone was living in the residence. It appeared it was an abandoned residence made for gigantic dog houses,” State Trooper Robert Broadwater said.

No charges have yet been filed against the owners.

"A lot of what is going to determine the charging is going to be based upon what a veterinarian says the condition of these animals is,” Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone said.

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