MOUNT VERNON — The 10-year-old black-and-white poodle had to have an eye removed and more than a dozen infected teeth pulled. He had severe muscle wasting because of malnutrition and lack of movement.
One Chihuahua, barely 2 months old and weighing less than a pound, was covered with feces and urine and was throwing up and sick with diarrhea. She later was diagnosed with two potentially fatal intestinal diseases.
Being swaddled in a T-shirt was the only treatment a Yorkshire terrier, 4, apparently was given for an infected, month-old sore on the dog’s back. Another Chihuahua, a long-haired female puppy, was found in a small Rubbermaid container, lethargic and apparently unaware of her surroundings.
These details and more were released Thursday, as Skagit County prosecutors filed four second-degree animal cruelty charges against a Mount Vernon couple as part of an expanding investigation into an alleged multimillion-dollar puppy mill.
The case began Jan. 16 with a tip about a home near Gold Bar where officials found about 160 dogs living in squalor.
On Thursday, Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney Richard Weyrich announced that his office had filed the animal cruelty charges against Marjorie and Richard Sundberg, the owners of the Mount Vernon kennels.
Marjorie Sundberg is the mother of Renee Roske and Mary Ann Holleman, the two women whose Snohomish homes were searched as part of the investigation that began in Gold Bar.
No charges have been filed in Snohomish County, where detectives still are assembling evidence.
An affidavit filed Thursday in Skagit County District Court outlined the conditions Skagit County sheriff’s deputies encountered last week when they raided a Mount Vernon kennel and rescued about 450 dogs.
“The smell of urine burned your nose, throat and eyes,” Skagit County animal control officer Emily Diaz wrote in the affidavit. “We all had to exit the building often to get fresh air as the smell was overwhelming and caused us to get sick.”
Officials believe dogs from Snohomish County may have been moved to the Mountain View Kennel, the Mount Vernon farm described Thursday in court papers, as investigators here were closing in.
On Wednesday, Snohomish County sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said much work remains for local detectives.
The dogs rescued in both Snohomish and Skagit counties are being cared for by professionals.
Snohomish County animal control manager Vicki Lubrin has said the dogs are evidence in the animal cruelty case and need to be kept under county care.
Each day brings news of the nearly 600 dogs rescued. On Wednesday, officials announced a new litter of puppies.
Thursday’s news wasn’t as good. One of the diseased dogs taken from the home near Gold Bar was put down, Lubrin said.
“He was under the care of the veterinarian at the vet hospital but continued to fade and was euthanized,” she said.
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or j holtz@heraldnet.com.
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