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Pinellas woman to get half of 120 seized dogs back
PINELLAS COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- A woman who had 120 dogs seized from her Tarpon Springs home will get 60 of them back, a judge ruled Wednesday.
The Suncoast Animal League took possession of the dogs in April. The animals were said to be in deplorable conditions.
But the judge ruled the Suncoast Animal League did not have the proper paper work when they took the dogs.
The Suncoast Animal League had permission from a county judge, but they did not have permission from Pinellas County commissioners which is stated in the law.
Executive Director of the Suncoast Animal League Rick Chaboudy will try to get permission and go back to a judge for custody.
The dogs' owner Teresita Hughes admits she had too many dogs but her attorney says it was an illegal search in the first place.
"He can't file a petition saying I want to keep these animals because he didn't have authority to take them in first place," attorney David Parry said.
Chaboudy says he thought he did everything right.
"I've been doing this for 20 something years and it's never been a issue," he said. "So this caught me completely by surprise."
It also surprised the animal lovers caring for the dogs. The Rodriguez family protested with a sign after the decision.
"You wouldn't keep a human being in those conditions, you shouldn't keep an animal in those types of conditions," said Pete Rodriguez.
The Suncoast Animal League says the dogs have extreme medical issues. Two have died.
Hughes will get the healthiest 60 back. The animal group says they've spent more than $100,000 caring for the dogs.
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