CMHS given custody of dogs from breeder who is charged with animal abuse
Olivia Hayes
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Boone County judge on Wednesday ruled that the Central Missouri Humane Society will have custody of the dogs who were allegedly abused by a local breeder.
A lawyer for Melissa Sanders, 26, argued the animals she is accused of abusing should be returned to her.
Boone County/Columbia Animal Control argued to the judge why the animals should be turned over to the Central Missouri Humane Society to reunite the animals with their owners. Those owners will be allowed to pick them up from CMHS with proof of ownership.
Sanders, of Columbia, is charged with three counts of felony animal abuse and 15 counts of misdemeanor animal abuse after animal control, assisted by Boone County sheriff’s deputies, found 16 living but severely malnourished dogs, five “intact” dead dogs and about a dozen dog skulls on her property. Officers also found four dead dogs outside of her building. Sanders is being held in the Phelps County Jail without bond.
Sanders owns Magnum Opus German Shepherds a breeding, boarding and training facility.
Judge Kayla Jackson-Williams heard witness testimony from animal control officers who responded when Sanders property was searched on Nov. 13 along with the veterinarians that treated the animals following their rescue.
Boone County Animal Control officer Emily Rathbun described her experience from the day of the search.
“You could smell the decomposition from outside, but once you stepped inside the feces and urine had built up to the point that would burn your eyes,” Rathbun said. “The kennels inside were full of fur, feces, urine and skeletal remains. A lot of them were bent or mangled past the point of being usable anymore.”
Rathbun also said on the stand that due to the number of remains that were found through out the property, the total number of dogs that died while in Sander’s car is unknown.
Kevin Meyers, Boone County Animal Control supervisor, also took the stand with his experience.
“I had to leave and get a mask because I physically could not breathe inside that space,” Meyers said. “What looked like remains of a dog that had slothed off its matted fur. As they decompose the fur falls off, the skin and the fur melts.”
Following the judge’s ruling, many owners arrived to CMHS to be reunited with their dogs.
“My dog Romy had been with her and I later found out she was deceased,” Brianna Moore said. “However, five of my puppies were there with her, five of Romy’s puppies and thankfully they are alive and I’m getting to take them home.”
It was also revealed in court Wednesday that after one week in the humane’s society care all of the dogs rescued, except one, saw significant weight gain and improvement. One dog initially rescued from the property, named Hex, died due to the severity of its condition.
The veterinarian that cared for Hex, Jessica Thiele, said on the stand that when she first examined Hex he looked like a 4-to-5-month-old puppy due to malnourishment. Another dog that was pregnant at the time of her rescue, Eri, delivered nine puppies while in the care of the humane society.
Owners have until Dec. 5 to claim their dogs from CMHS.