MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Thomas Todd, and his wife, have a neighbor they're worried about — not because of anything they can see, but because of what they can hear and smell.
The couple sent video of dogs barking from behind a fence next door at their Martin County home. Todd said he believes there are between 15 and 20 dogs on the property.
I visited the Todds' home on a calm, July afternoon. But when the wind picks up, Todd said the smell coming from next door is overwhelming.
"It's a combination of garbage and animal feces and urine," Todd said. "I mean, I don't know how somebody could live in that."
Todd first raised his concerns at a WPTV Let's Hear It event in Jensen Beach in May. When asked what a solution would look like, his answer was simple: "Save those dogs. Get them out of there."
Public records obtained by WPTV show Martin County Animal Control officers and sheriff's deputies have visited the home at least 11 times since 2020 — all related to concerns about the dogs and their owner. The owner is not being named because she has never been charged with a crime.
One incident report from 2020 describes accounts of as many as 25 dogs inside the home. On multiple occasions, authorities noted feces on the floor and furniture. Records show the owner did clean up after initial visits and told animal control she had re-homed some of the dogs, but she eventually stopped allowing law enforcement inside. Multiple reports note that deputies were not allowed to see the dogs when they visited the home.
A code enforcement officer took photos through the glass front door in 2023, noting "a dog with feces on it." After that visit, the owner put up a fence.
Todd said she also stopped letting the dogs outside, but he can still hear them barking in the house. For Todd, what's out of sight is not out of mind — let alone out of sound or smell.
"It's just sad. And there's nothing anybody can do or will do," Todd said.
Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said the fence has created a legal barrier to further investigation.
"You can't even see into the property anymore," Budensiek said. "So she really has legally walled us off from investigating exactly what's going on inside."
When asked whether deputies have a lawful way to enter the property and look for themselves, Budensiek said they do not — unless there is visible evidence of mistreatment.
"If there was something that we could see from the outside that -- you know -- dogs are being mistreated, malnourished, not taken care of — we would absolutely get a search warrant and go in there," Budensiek said.
Florida statutes require that confined animals be provided "a sufficient quantity of good and wholesome food and water." Budensiek said that standard appears to be met based on what deputies can observe.
"We saw recently — as recently as last week — that there's food boxes that are out there, empty food boxes, so we know the animals from the outside look to be being taken care of," Budensiek said.
I attempted to reach the owner by phone and left three voicemails. She did not respond.
In the most recent incident report — from July 2025 — the owner told deputies she had 7 dogs, then "redacted and said that she only had five dogs," according to the report.
Todd said he does not believe that statement.
"Seems like from everything I've been told, the law's on her side," Todd said.
Since I visited the Todds last month, they say they continue to hear the dogs and have continued to follow up with the sheriff's office. They have also seen animal control in front of the owner's house a few times since this story began — but deputies have not gone in.
Budensiek acknowledged the neighbors' frustration but said there is little more his office can do.
"I know the neighbors are worried and, and we'll still respond out there for complaints. But again, it's not illegal to be a bad neighbor," Budensiek said.
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