WESTMINSTER – Dozens of French and English bulldogs were seized this week from a man suspected of running a breeding business out of a Westminster house.

Animal-control and rescue authorities took 78 animals Monday night, from four to five months old to senior dogs. Many had been kept in crates, and they were dirty and suffering from some ailment, authorities said.

Related Articles Meet the 78 bulldogs up for adoption in Westminster

Some dogs were covered in mange or had ulcers, warts, masses on their skin or eyes or infected surgery scars, authorities said, and the females showed signs of having been bred multiple times.

“Every dog needs medical care in some way,” said Cortney Dorney, manager of Westminster Adoption Group and Services, which acts as the official shelter for Westminster and Stanton.

A bulldog is held by staff at Westminster Adoption Group and Services. It was one of the 78 seized Monday, Nov.6, from a suspected illegal breeder at a Westminster house. (Photo Courtesy of the Mike Dorney)

Several bulldogs run around and play with Cortney Dorney, shelter manager at Westminster Adoption Group and Services. They were some of the 78 seized Monday, Nov.6, from a suspected illegal breeder at a Westminster house. The dogs were dirty, kept in crates and had received no medical care. (Photo Courtesy of the Mike Dorney)

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A French bulldog sits at Westminster Adoption Group and Services. It was one of the 78 seized Monday, Nov.6, from a suspected illegal breeder at a Westminster house. The dogs were kept in dirty crates and needed medical care.(Photo Courtesy of the Mike Dorney)

This French bulldog was one of the 78 seized Monday, Nov.6, from a suspected illegal breeder at a Westminster house. The dogs were kept in dirty crates and needed medical care. The dogs are being housed at Westminster Adoption Group and Services.(Photo Courtesy of the Mike Dorney)

Cortney Dorney, shelter manager for Westminster Adoption Group and Services, cuddles some of the bulldogs seized by authorites on Monday, Nov. 6, from a suspected illegal breeding business at a house in Westminster. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Dorney)



A bulldog sits at Westminster Adoption Group and Services. It was one of the 78 seized Monday, Nov.6, from a suspected illegal breeder at a Westminster house. The dogs were kept in dirty crates and needed medical care.(Photo Courtesy of the Mike Dorney)

A brown bulldog walks about at Westminster Adoption Group and Services. It was one of the 78 seized Monday, Nov.6, from a suspected illegal breeder at a Westminster house. The dogs were kept in dirty crates and needed medical care.(Photo Courtesy of the Mike Dorney)

A bulldog shows its tongue at Westminster Adoption Group and Services. It was one of the 78 seized Monday, Nov.6, from a suspected illegal breeder at a Westminster house. The dogs were kept in dirty crates and needed medical care. Some of the dogs, like the one pictured, had cropped ears.(Photo Courtesy of the Mike Dorney)

A French bulldog sits at Westminster Adoption Group and Services. It was one of the 78 seized Monday, Nov.6, from a suspected illegal breeder at a Westminster house. The dogs were kept in dirty crates and needed medical care.(Photo Courtesy of the Mike Dorney)

A bulldog walk about at Westminster Adoption Group and Services. It was one of the 78 seized Monday, Nov.6, from a suspected illegal breeder at a Westminster house. The dogs were kept in dirty crates and needed medical care.(Photo Courtesy of the Mike Dorney)



Two bulldogs look on at Westminster Adoption Group and Services. They are two of the 78 seized Monday, Nov.6, from a suspected illegal breeder at a Westminster house. (Photo Courtesy of the Mike Dorney)

Dorney was there Monday night, Nov. 6, when the suspected breeder was ordered to hand over the animals.

The dogs were being kept in conditions she described as a combination hoarding situation and puppy mill. They were in enclosed areas laying in feces in urine, authorities said. Many were kept in wire crates in the garage of the house in the 9000 block of Kern Avenue.

“The ammonia smell was so bad,” Dorney said. “Two animal-control officers were treated for the ammonia (inhalation).”

The dogs were turned over, one-by one, to rescuers, each of them wet. Dorney said it appears the owner doused them in water to try to clean them before relinquishing them. The suspected breeder was allowed to keep three dogs, the maximum permitted under city law, she said.

The home is a single-family house where the neighbors appeared to be unaware of the business happening inside, Dorney said. But on Monday night sometime before 7:30 p.m., one neighbor heard dogs possibly in distress and called police, said Westminster police Cmdr. Cameron Knauerhaze.

“We sent our officers to check on the welfare of these animals,” Knauerhaze said. “The conditions were unsanitary and disgusting. No human or animal should have to live in the conditions we saw.”

Animal control, who are police officers, discovered what they initially thought were about 40 dogs. But after the seizure, the finally tally was 78.

Knauerhaze said the owner had not yet been cited but could face felony charges of animal cruelty. He said the home has to be investigated as do the conditions of each dog.

“We’re taking this very seriously,” he said. “It takes time to build a good case that we’ll take to the District Attorney’s Office.”

The owner has until Nov. 18 to decide whether he wants to try to get the dogs back or release ownership to authorities.

In the meantime, Dorney and the shelter team are working to medically treat the dogs as much as they can. Extensive medical treatment is limited, because the suspected breeder has not formally given up ownership.

Dorney hopes the dogs will be signed over to the shelter, so they can recover and eventually be fostered out or adopted.

No dog has been euthanized, and Dorney said the dog in the the most serious condition was a puppy taken by a rescuer to another facility to receive immediate care.

The newfound brood is another large undertaking for WAGS, which has rescued large quantities of animals in the past.

In June, the shelter took in more than 125 rabbits from a man who had them in his home. They still have 96 of those rabbits and other animals bringing the total to about 400 rescue animals in its care.

WAGS does not euthanize animals unless they are very sick or have serious behavioral problems.

Housing and caring for animals can be costly. With the arrival of the bulldogs, WAGS has had to hire more staff, build more housing and order more medication.

WAGS has a Paypal account where people who’d like to donate for the bulldogs or other animals can give. Dorney said donations are very much needed. WAGS is also looking to hire even more caretakers.

Many of the bulldogs need multiple medications and care.

“The majority don’t know what it’s like to be touched or that you can have a relationship with a human,” Dorney said.

At the WAGS location on Westminster Boulevard, the dogs have been given open space to roam. Some have warmed up to being able to run around, but many get scared.

“These dogs were not pets,” Dorney said. “This guy … this was his business. This is how he made his money.”

Westminster Adoption Group and Services is at 6621 Westminster Blvd. in Westminster. The phone number is: 714-887-6156.