PALM CITY, Fla. — The Martin County Sheriff's Office conducted a search warrant Monday at a Palm City home in connection with an alleged animal hoarding case.
Sheriff’s deputies rescued 36 dogs from a home in the 1245 block of Southwest Alligator Street following a WPTV investigation. WPTV was told that the hoarding case involves Border Collies.
WATCH BELOW: Dogs rescued after WPTV investigation into suspected animal hoarding
Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said the owner of the home, Paige O'Donnell, will face 72 criminal charges — 36 felony torture charges and 36 misdemeanor charges. She's accused of keeping animals enclosed without exercise and air. This comes after investigators said she never let the dogs outside — something that neighbors previously told WPTV had been occurring.
"The house is so deteriorated that about a foot and a half of drywall is gone. The furniture is destroyed, and the animals are in deplorable condition. The food bowls, the water bowls in there are covered in feces. The animals themselves, the dogs, which are supposed to be border collies, beautiful dogs, are covered in feces," Budensiek said.
Monday's search warrant comes after WPTV's investigation revealed that Martin County Animal Control officers and sheriff's deputies had visited homes in the area at least 11 times since 2020 — all related to concerns about dogs and their owners.
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As law enforcement continued to respond, the homeowner built a fence and stopped letting deputies in — making it hard to find probable cause for a warrant.
But after WPTV started asking the sheriff’s office about the house, they decided to look into it once again.
"We could not legally just run into the house based on what people said. We had to get our own information. So, days of surveillance out here, days of trying to negotiate with Paige… but she agreed last week to surrender one of the dogs to us," Budensiek said.
The sheriff said that dog appeared to be malnourished, giving them the probable cause to execute a warrant Monday.
Investigators on Monday were busy sweeping the house to make sure no dogs were hiding inside or dead.
O'Donnell, a former AKC Border Collie breeder, had been living in this house and was taking a bath when they arrived to serve the warrant. Budensiek said she didn't come to the door, prompting them to bust it open.
Budensiek applauded WPTV's efforts reporting the story, which kept the case on their radar.
"You keeping the story alive in your newsroom kept us engaged, kept us back out here and looking. It’s a collective effort," Budensiek said.
Meanwhile, the 36 dogs rescued on Monday will be taken to the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast for care.
