A 35-year-old Winnipeg woman faces a number of animal cruelty-related charges after police said their investigation of a home in the Daniel McIntyre area turned up 15 malnourished, distressed dogs.
On Jan. 4, police were following up on another matter in the 700 block of Home Street when they noticed a strong smell coming from the residence. When they approached the house, they saw a number of dogs barking and clawing at the window.
With the help of the city’s Animal Services Agency, police seized the dogs and transported them to a city facility for medical care.
According to police, the home was in a deplorable state, with no food or water for the dogs and a ‘substantial build-up of urine and feces’. It appeared that the dogs had been eating parts of furniture and walls in an attempt to survive.
Cst. Jay Murray said it appeared the dogs had been abandoned at the home.
“Anywhere from a month to a week,” said Murray when asked if he knew how long the dogs had been without care.
The dogs were found covered in urine and feces, one had an eye ulcer and all were starving, said Winnipeg Animal Services COO Leland Gordon.
“One of the dogs was pooping drywall at Animal Services,” he said.
Crystal Marie Molloy, 35, was arrested Saturday and faces charges under the Animal Care Act for failing to provide an adequate source of food or water for an animal and for inflicting suffering, serious injury or harm.
She also faces Criminal Code charges for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal or for abandoning/neglecting an animal.
Molloy was also well over the legal limit for dogs in a household in Winnipeg, which is four.
The dogs will be put up for adoption at a later date, following medical treatment.