Body cam: Officers confront owner of 11 puppies rescued from Wheat Ridge motel
WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. (KDVR) — FOX31 obtained footage of what could be an animal hoarding bust in Wheat Ridge.
Body-worn camera footage from February 1 shows Wheat Ridge officers responding to a welfare check for dogs at the LaQuinta Inn at 3301 Youngfield Service Rd. A scene, WRPD Community Services Officer Timothy Haines, smelled before he even saw.
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'Even around the corner from the room, you could smell how bad it was,' Haines said. 'There were five puppies held in one kennel that was probably meant for one or two. There was a puppy that was actively bleeding. There was feces smeared around the room, the toilet, the bathtub, the sink all clogged with feces. It was it was a scene that most people, I think, would show up and throw up.'
Police say 11 German shepherd puppies were found living in cramped, unsanitary conditions in the motel.
'And the mother had just been recently hit on Kipling because of neglect,' Haines said. 'The first reaction is just, just disgust. The secondary reaction is a lot of anger, right? Those puppies don't get to say, 'Hey, can I go outside? Hey, can I have some water? Hey, can I have some food? Hey, I would like to have some more room.' They're just sitting in the kennels crying.'
The owner got a summons for 11 counts of animal cruelty or inhumane treatment. For now, the puppies are impounded for safekeeping at a local shelter where they discovered all of them had GI infections.
'As soon as they got acclimated, they were just the most playful, happy,' Haines said. 'They were they were happy to have water; they were happy to have food. If you think someone or puppies or dogs or any animal that can't tell you 'I'm in trouble' and you think that animal is in trouble, be the voice for them.'
The owner was due in court on Tuesday. WRPD officials tell us she did not show up on time, so there is going to be a warrant drawn up for failure to appear.
FOX31 is in contact with the shelter and will update about the puppies.
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