SNOHOMISH — Renee Roske, the Snohomish dog breeder at the center of a multimillion-dollar illegal puppy mill investigation, has lost an appeal to keep her kennel business.
A Snohomish County hearing examiner on Tuesday dismissed Roske’s Feb. 17 request to keep her kennel license, said Vicki Lubrin, the county’s animal control manager.
Animal control officers and sheriff’s deputies have seized nearly 600 dogs connected to Roske and her business, Wags ‘n’ Wiggles, since mid-January. Nearly 160 dogs were living in what court papers described as “deplorable” conditions in a home near Gold Bar and about 450 dogs covered with urine and feces were rescued from a Mount Vernon-area kennel.
Jason and Serenna Larsen, who were found with the Gold Bar dogs, are each charged with six counts of first-degree animal cruelty. The pair claim they worked for Roske and followed her instructions.
Roske’s mother, Marjorie Sundberg and her husband, Richard Sundberg, who own the Mount Vernon kennel, face numerous animal cruelty charges in Skagit County.
Roske, 44, has not been charged.
The Sundbergs petitioned for return of the dogs and a civil custody hearing had been set for today. Instead, the Sundbergs agreed on Wednesday to forfeit possession, Skagit County Prosecutor Richard Weyrich said. The move doesn’t affect the criminal case against the couple.
Roske now must give up all but three of her dogs and stop selling animals, Lubrin said.
On Jan. 30, Snohomish County ordered Roske to give up her dogs, citing more than a dozen years of repeated code violations. At least eight times since 1996, county officials inspected her Snohomish business and found far more than the 25 dogs permitted under county rules.
Officials once found a hidden underground room where Roske kept puppies, according to county records.
Roske wrote in her appeal, “I want to keep my kennel in business! I need (an) immediate corrective action order.”
That’s not sufficient grounds to block the county’s actions, Lubrin said. Roske would have had to argue that the county’s allegations weren’t accurate.
Roske now has until March 13 to file a request for reconsideration with the hearing examiner. She also may appeal in Snohomish County Superior Court.
Calls Wednesday to Roske and her attorney were not immediately returned.
Meanwhile, Everett officials said some of the dogs rescued from the Gold Bar home may become available for adoption later this month. The dogs have been cared for in foster homes and at breed-specific rescue organizations, Everett city spokeswoman Kate Reardon said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437, jholtz@heraldnet.com
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