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'I've never seen anything like it': Deputies describe rescuing 36 neglected Border Collies from Palm City home

Deputies had to dispose of uniforms because feces, urine, filth inside house

WPTV, Wally Lurz

Martin County deputies spoke with WPTV chief investigator Jamie Ostroff about the hours they spent inside a filth-filled Palm City home rescuing 36 neglected Border Collies.

By: Jamie Ostroff

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MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Martin County deputies spent hours inside a filth-filled Palm City home this week rescuing 36 neglected Border Collies, and now they're speaking out about what they found — and what comes next in the case against the dogs' owner.

"I've been doing this job for 33 years, and I've never seen anything like it, period," said Cpt. Jason Ward. "You just can't describe the filth, and the picture does not do it justice."

WATCH BELOW: Deputies describe 'the filth' involved in rescuing 36 neglected dogs

Deputies describe 'the filth' involved rescuing 36 neglected dogs

The Martin County Sheriff's Office launched the investigation after WPTV chief investigator Jamie Ostroff asked about the house, following a neighbor who brought his concerns to a Let's Hear It event.

Ward, Cpl. Christine Polizzi, and Lt. Ben Lisle led the team that removed the dogs from the home, which was filled with so much feces, urine, and filth, that the deputies had to dispose of the uniforms they wore that day.

The deputies described "slipping and sliding" on the floor as deputies searched through the house, where drywall had rotted or been chewed away by dogs.

"So you think you have one (dog) in a room where you can grab them, next thing you know, they slip out along with several others through a hole in the drywall that you didn't even see," Ward said.

When asked how they were able to work through the smell, the deputies were direct.

"Determination," Lisle said.

"(It) wasn't going to get done any other way," Polizzi said.

"A little bit of a driving force there was looking at those animals. We had to get them out," Ward said. "No matter how much time it took. You know, so we go out, we grab a couple, go out, catch a little air, recover for a few minutes, and go back in. And just that went on all day."

The sheriff's office had been investigating owner Paige O'Donnell for weeks, but it wasn't the first time they'd looked into her. WPTV's initial reporting on O'Donnell's home revealed law enforcement records detailing years of complaints and follow-ups by deputies dating back to 2020. O'Donnell had never been charged with a crime and always appeared — at least from the outside — to have addressed the complaints.

"Each time a point of contention was brought up, steps were taken to negotiate around those, which brought up the fence, brought up the well-maintained yard, brought up the exterior, which would prevent us from entering the interior," Lisle said. "We are allowed to cross over a fence for an exigent circumstance. We're allowed to do welfare checks. But if there's nothing apparent for us to see, we can't cross into a fence to invade somebody's privacy. So it led us to a criminal investigation when Paige would not cooperate with our civil side of the investigation."

Deputies say that changed after days of surveillance.

"We were able to see that the dogs were never let out of the house," Polizzi said.

A meeting at a park with O'Donnell and one of her dogs also proved pivotal.

"We put eyes on one of her dogs, which is what led to the immediate concern that solidified the complaints that have come in," Lisle said. "We can't pursue a search warrant based on a simple statement. We would need evidence to corroborate those statements, which we got once we were able to meet with Paige, which really hastened the process for us to execute that search warrant."

O'Donnell is currently being held at the Martin County Jail on a $270,000 bond. According to court records, she does not have an attorney. Investigators said they last spoke with O'Donnell at the time of her arrest Monday.

"I basically just wanted to know why, and her explanation was she was in the process of cleaning up, and I asked her how many dogs she had, and she said she thought she had 20. She couldn't give us a number," Polizzi said.

The 36 dogs are now at the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast.

"They're recovering," Polizzi said, adding that they're showing improvement every day.

The dogs remain evidence in the criminal case and still legally belong to O'Donnell.

"If the dog owner were to surrender them, then the humane society could look into adopting them out, fostering them, things of that nature," Lisle said. "If she were to not surrender them, then they would stay the humane society, receive the necessary care through the volunteers, through the great work that they do, until the case were to come to a conclusion. That time period is unknown."

If O'Donnell posts bond, one condition is that she not have any dogs. On Wednesday, her home was condemned by the county, which cited unsanitary conditions.

"But it doesn't necessarily prevent her from returning to that residence," Lisle said.

Investigators said they have collected all the evidence they need from the house. No animal remains were found inside.

Veterinary records from the dogs' ongoing care will play a significant role in the investigation going forward.

"We are putting together the cases as they should be to make sure that every I is dotted, every T is crossed," Lisle said.

Asked what they'd like the public to know about the case, beyond the disturbing images circulating online, Lisle replied, "The hours, the effort, the mental stress that people are putting--our people, the Humane Society's folks-- are putting themselves through to bring these cases to a logical and sound conclusion, to rescue the animals that need to be rescued, and to make sure justice is served where it needs to be served, and appropriately and proportionately."

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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