VALLEJO, CA — Solano County Sheriff's Deputies and Animal Control officers on Thursday removed 44 dogs from the home of a Vallejo woman who has previously been convicted of animal cruelty.
The raid, authorized by a search warrant as part of an animal cruelty investigation into resident Susan Anthony, took place at a residence on the 800 block of Carolina Street in central Vallejo.
"It's a lot of dogs, so it's overwhelming the shelter system," said Sgt. Rex Hawkins from the Solano County Sheriff's Office. "Dogs are being taken everywhere."
Hawkins did not comment on the health of the canines or the conditions they were living in, but said that a veterinary assessment of the canines is pending.
Anthony runs California Carolina Dogs, a dog breeding and adoption business. She has kept and bred Carolina dogs, also known as American dingos, at several Vallejo properties for around 20 years, she said.
Since 2013, neighbors and animal rights groups have lodged complaints against Anthony for operating a "puppy mill."
In May, Anthony was found guilty in Solano County Court on one count of animal cruelty for allegedly keeping and breeding a pack of dogs that ran wild on a small ranch in east Vallejo. According to court records, she was granted probation in June.
On August 2023, a dog owned by Anthony was attacked so badly it had to be euthanized. In 2024, a puppy was killed by several dogs, and in one week, the pack twice attacked two of Anthony's other dogs.
Anthony is also in the midst of a civil suit brought by Caru Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals alleging that her organization's practices are animal cruelty. She is scheduled to appear in court for a hearing in the case on Friday at Solano County Superior Court in Fairfield.
Anthony, who was present during Thursday's raid, maintained that the dogs are healthy and live a good life on the property, which sits on two lots in a residential area of Vallejo.
Anthony said the raid was traumatic for the dogs, some of which yelped as they were caught and put into kennels. She said the dogs belong to her 99-year-old mother, who lives on Carolina Street.
Anthony has vigorously defended her dog operation. In September 2025, she filed a motion for a restraining order against the county Animal Control, which was denied.
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