A Middleburg, Virginia, woman has been charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty after Loudoun County Animal Services found five dead dogs and 19 others in unsafe and unhealthy living conditions at a training facility in July.
The felony and misdemeanor charges that Patricia Mathis-Burby, 62, face carry a possible six-year prison time and/or fines.
Earlier this year in July, 19 dogs and six cats were removed from Mathis-Burby’s home. The county’s animal services department also found five deceased dogs “including those decomposing in crates adjacent to living dogs,” the county said in a news release.
During a civil hearing earlier this month, she permanently lost custody of the animals, which were transferred to Loudoun County Animal Services. She was ordered to pay $23,500 in restitution to cover the cost of animal care, the county said. She also received an indefinite ban on owning animals in Virginia.
Humane law enforcement officers described what they found in Mathis-Busby’s home as “extreme.”
In addition to urine and feces throughout the home, officers also found dogs confined in crates for long periods of time in “litter and feces several inches deep and without access to food or potable water,” the county news release said.
The county said that Mathis-Burby was allegedly also fostering animals for a Fairfax-based poodle rescue in her home.
The property was linked to the “White Columns K-9” dog training business, and another Facebook account listed as “White Columns Australian Shepherds” suggests that Australian Shepherds had been bred and sold at the address.
Mathis-Burby is scheduled to appear in General District Court on Oct. 3.
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report.
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