Woman Accused of Keeping 84 Dogs in Crates

July 27, 2004 -- That sad look you see sometimes in your dog's eyes could be him remembering something you didn't even know you rescued him from.

Too many puppies begin their lives in dog breeding factories that force mothers to have litter after litter. Their pups are packed in cramped, unsanitary conditions until they can be shipped off to unscrupulous or unsuspecting pet shops, or sold to families who do too little to check on where their pups were raised, humane society and American Kennel Club officials say.

The conditions in some of these so-called puppy mills are so bad, they are criminal.

In one, a Colorado woman is facing 15 counts of animal cruelty for allegedly abandoning 84 Labrador retrievers in crates too small for the sick, emaciated dogs to even stand up in. Catherine "Dody" Cariaso is due to be arraigned today on the charges at Larimer County District Court.

Of the 84 dogs found crated in the home, 54 were so sick they had to be euthanized by the Larimer County Humane Society, officials said.

Sadly enough, that case is not an isolated incident, according to animal protection groups and the AKC. And a scan of the nation's news bears out their claim.

Horror Stories Abound

In New Hampshire, a Hancock woman is accused of running a puppy mill after animal rescue workers removed 17 dogs from her home, where they believe she may have been keeping more than 100.

"The kennels were to capacity, therefore the dogs spilled over into the yard and the house," Hancock Police Chief Steven Baldwin told ABC News affiliate WMUR.

Police have removed dozens of animals from the home of the woman, Ricki Daugsiewicz, over the last two years, Baldwin said.

The latest concerns were raised after a Stratham, N.H., woman said she bought two Chihuahuas from Daugsiewicz and the dogs died within three days. The woman's veterinarian told her the breeder had sold her puppies that were just 6 weeks old, too young to be taken from their mother.