A Worth County judge has ruled against a rural Manly woman’s request that nine dogs and four cats be returned to her after dozens of animals were taken from her property.
Officials seized 154 dogs and four cats from the property of Barbara Kavars back in November.
In several visits to the property, a Worth County sheriff’s deputy says he saw kennels covered with feces and mud and visibly skinny dogs with no water and little food.
Court records describe overcrowded and filthy conditions at the rural Manly property.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals cared for the animals and called the operation a “puppy mill.”
Worth County Magistrate Douglas Krull ruled against Kavars on Monday, saying the dogs and cats were among those neglected and that they qualified as threatened animals.
Krull says the Worth County Sheriff’s Department should appropriately care for them, up to and including delivering them to another owner.
By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City