PALM COAST, Fla. – A Flagler County dog rescue says it has been inundated with 67 dogs — all stemming from a single animal neglect case. The situation began when dozens of dogs were dumped on the side of a road, and investigators in both St. Johns and Flagler counties are now looking into the case. Criminal charges have not been filed.
“The initial call came from actually one of the vet techs here at East Coast on her way home that it looked like around 30 dogs, appearing to be chihuahuas or chihuahua mixes were dumped on county road 204,” said Caroline Johnson, director of SMART Animal Rescue.
Johnson says her organization was called to the border of St. Johns and Flagler counties two weeks ago, where they found 23 dogs abandoned on the side of the road. Videos from the scene show the small dogs running loose.
“We’ve recovered 23 — 20 that are alive and rescued — three that were hit by cars and are now deceased. Our organization posted a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction,” Johnson said.
Tips poured in following the reward announcement, eventually leading investigators to a home in Palm Coast. On Monday, the family at the residence surrendered 51 more dogs to Palm Coast Animal Control and Flagler County deputies.
“It’s been one of the worst cases. We’ve had a few hoarding cases, a couple recently, but this one... the numbers, the amount of feces and urine and smell was very high,” said Heather Priestap with Palm Coast Animal Control.
East Coast Animal Hospital in Palm Coast is where all 67 dogs were taken, with staff working around the clock to provide care. The veterinary team says many of the dogs had skin issues and other medical problems, all of which are being treated and paid for by SMART Animal Rescue. Staff say they had just minutes of warning before the animals arrived.
“We also had word from the sheriff’s office that the water had been turned off on March 15, so we don’t know how they were getting any water. They were a little dehydrated but nothing too crazy, nothing that wasn’t fixable,” said Michael Tajmir, owner of East Coast Animal Hospital.
Anyone interested in adopting or donating can visit smartflagler.com.