Police seized 179 Chihuauas and nearly a dozen exotic animals from the house.
/ Tonya Brown
Neighbors say a Marion woman mostly kept to herself. Tuesday night, police seized more than 200 animals from her home on Allen Drive. Police are investigating to see if the woman should face charges.
Neighbors say they had no idea there were so many animals in the home.
The Allen Drive neighborhood in Marion is a nice one. The yards are well-kept and many houses proudly display the American flag. We talked with several people who live there, who say something was different about the woman living nearby.
Bill and Rosine Jones have lived on Allen Drive for 45 years. They were shocked to learn the city condemned their neighbors home, after police seized 179 Chihuauas and nearly a dozen exotic animals from the house.
Officers say animal waste littered the home. "I knew couple of years- they had a half a dozen little small dogs puppies. I never thought about having this many," Bill said.
The dogs are being cared for at the Marion County Animal Shelter, run by Paws to the Rescue. Some of the animals have pretty serious medical conditions that shelter officials say are the result of inbreeding.
The shelter has been closed for two days now, as volunteers try to care for all the dogs. "Monetary wise, it's a huge strain on the shelter. We don't keep a lot of bulk supplies on hand, we order them as needed. And obviously, we don't have medical supplies and things - vaccinations, heart worm tests- for this many dogs at one time," said Jennifer Nall, Paws to the Rescue.
Nall hopes donations will help them get though. Bill and Rosine Jones hope everything works out for the dogs and their neighbor.
The shelter has started a list of people who'd like to adopt the dogs.
