PALM CITY, Fla. — The Martin County Sheriff's Office is conducting a search warrant of a Palm City home for an alleged animal hoarding case Monday afternoon.
A sheriff's office spokesperson told WPTV that officials are at the 1245 block of SW Alligator Street to conduct the warrant.
WPTV was told that the hoarding case involves Border Collies.
This 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.
Let's Hear It
'SAVE THE DOGS': Neighbors say dogs are suffering next door
In our previous reporting, neighbors like Thomas Todd described ongoing concerns about what they believed to be 15-20 dogs living in poor conditions next door. Todd and other neighbors reported overwhelming smells of "garbage and animal feces and urine" and constant barking from dogs they believed were suffering.
Sheriff John Budensiek had previously told WPTV that his hands were tied due to legal barriers. In our earlier investigation, he explained that property owners had "legally walled us off from investigating" by putting up fences that blocked visibility into the properties.
"If there was something that we could see from the outside that dogs are being mistreated, malnourished, not taken care of — we would absolutely get a search warrant and go in there," Budensiek said at the time.
