Conditions At Dog Rescue So Deplorable, Investigating Officer Only Lasts 30 Seconds Inside

RACINE -- The conditions inside the Racine Lucky Mutts so bad that the investigator assigned to the animal mistreatment case only lasted 30 seconds in the property before he had to leave.

Racine couple Heather Jensen and Terry Bogard face 26 counts of mistreating animals after a police investigation at the Lucky Mutts dog rescue, located on Racine's North Side at 1437 Harmony Drive revealed deplorable conditions.

If convicted of each of the 26 misdemeanor counts against them, Jensen and Bogard face up to 19-and-a-half years behind bars or up to $260,000 in fines, or both, if they are convicted.

According to their criminal complaint, police entered the property on Harmony Drive just before 3 p.m. on Friday, September 9.

According to the complaint, this is what they wrote about their experience inside the 928-square-foot home:

"As I ame near the residence I could smell a strong odor of urine...As the door was opened I observed approximately 12 small dog cages containing large dogs. Many of the cages appeared to be too small to allow the dogs to move freely within them. The cages were all stacked on top of each other, two cages high."

Investigators found large amounts of dog food on the floor near the cages and no evdence of water bowls.

The officer continued:

"The floors of the home were covered in a thick coat of dog fur. The walls were streaked with what I believed to be either mud or feces."

According to the criminal complaint, Jensen and Bogard were "extremely cooperative" when turning over the dogs, bringing them out of the home one at a time.

Police said Jensen provided humane society personnel with names of each dog as well as helping personnel with placing tags on them, photographing them and placing them in cages to be transported.

In all, 26 dogs were removed from the property: 24 were taken to the Humane Society, and two personal dogs were turned over to family members.

Due to the small cages the animals were confined in, the un-cleanliness of the home, and the animals not having proper water, Jensen and Bogard were arrested for 26 counts of animal mistreatment and failure to provide proper food and water. The couple were tranported to the Racine County Jail wihtout incident.

They are being held in the Racine County Jail on a $5,000 cash bond. Their next appearance in court is Nov. 7.

Image/City of Racine