NELSON COUNTY, Va. (WSET) — A Nelson County dog breeder has sparked outrage in the community.
She is charged with more than 100 counts of inadequate animal care and was in court today.
The breeder, identified as Colleen Whiteman, has upwards of 70 dogs on her property, according to the Nelson County Commonwealth’s Attorney.
Neighbors near her home on Faber Road said they are fed up.
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Whiteman entered a plea agreement today, which requires her to improve living conditions for the dogs within three months.
As part of the agreement, she must sell or put the dogs up for adoption until she reduces the number to a manageable level, as determined by animal control.
Neighbors and community members expressed their frustration in court, citing ongoing issues with the dogs.
Stu Loving, who lives near Whiteman, said, “We’ve come to the point we’ve had enough of the constant noise and the dead dogs in the road and everything that comes along with it.”
Residents claim the dogs frequently escape, leading to incidents where they are hit by cars or fight with other animals.
The community is also troubled by the persistent barking and waste.
“So you go outside and practically all day, you just hear the barking all the time. You go to bed at night, they are barking. You get up in the middle of the night, you hear barking, and you wake up, there is going to probably be barking,” Loving said.
The Nelson County SPCA has expressed concern about the potential strain on local nonprofits due to the influx of dogs needing homes.
Denise Merricks, vice president of the Nelson County SPCA, said, “We are already stretched really thin with huge numbers of dogs and puppies, cats and kittens and intake.”
Animal control will conduct regular check-ups at Whiteman’s home to ensure compliance with the plea agreement.
Whiteman is scheduled to return to court in July.
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