Boynton Beach man guilty of keeping pit bull puppies in filth

A 63-year-old Boynton Beach man was found guilty on Tuesday of keeping two pit bull puppies in a cramped backyard pen littered with debris and feces, according to Boynton Beach Police Animal Control.

Johnny Hollis was convicted of two counts of unlawful confinement of animals and sentenced to 18 months probation and 150 hours of community service. He is also required to pay a fine of $250 to a local animal shelter and $352 in court fees, police said.

In January, an Animal Control officer happened upon the four-month-old male and female puppies while passing what looked like an abandoned home on the 300 block of Northeast 11th Avenue, according to the police report.

Flies swarmed around the nearly empty pots of brown water and food scraps mixed with waste that were found in the pen surrounded by a chain-link fence and wood.

The flea-infested puppies were taken to the Boynton Beach Animal Shelter where they were cleaned up, examined and fed, the report stated.

An officer waited for Hollis to return to the home, which had shattered windows and no running water.

Hollis admitted to owning the puppies and said they were given to him by the previous residents of the dilapidated house, after theirdogs had a litter of nine pit bull puppies.

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