Teacher charged with animal crueltyClarksburg woman kept 28 dogs in her homeWednesday, Jan. 25, 2006
Maria Yordan Torres, 52, was arrested Jan. 18 and charged with 11 counts of inflicting pain on an animal and 21 counts of failing to provide to provide sufficient food, veterinary care, air, space and shelter, among other things. She posted $15,000 bond and was released from the Montgomery County Detention Center. Torres has been a teacher in the county school system since 1986 and currently teaches Spanish at Montgomery Blair High School. In an interview at her Dancrest Drive home in the Fountain View neighborhood Monday, Torres said she was a responsible breeder. ‘‘I don’t abuse dogs,” Torres said. ‘‘I have been an animal lover. I see this has been taken out of proportion because one dog was found dead.” Police said 27 of the dogs removed from her home, some of them puppies, were of the Coton de Tulear breed. One of them was an adult beagle. None of them were licensed in Montgomery County, according to Ashley Owen, a spokeswoman for the county Humane Society. All of the animals were turned over to the Montgomery County Animal Shelter, which is operated by the Humane Society. Owen said the Coton de Tulear breed is a rare one that was re-introduced to Europe and America only 20 years ago. She said Torres had been selling the dogs for $2,000 each. According to charging documents, county animal services inspected Torres’ property on Nov. 4, as part of Torres’ application for a fancier’s license, a kind of kennel license. The inspector found an overwhelming smell of urine in the basement where the dogs were kept in crates. Many of them, including puppies, were sitting in urine and feces. On Dec. 28, inspectors returned to the property. No one answered the door, but barking was heard inside the house and in the backyard. A dead Coton de Tulear was found in the yard. A veterinarian determined that ‘‘exposure due to poor body condition and lack of quality hair coat” likely contributed to the dog’s death. It was also determined that the dog had not been eating properly. On Jan. 4, officers executed a search warrant at the house and removed all the dogs. ‘‘I had the dogs for breeding,” Torres said Monday. ‘‘But they were not all for breeding. These people took all my dogs. They didn’t leave a single dog.” The Humane Society has placed 18 of the Coton de Tulear dogs in new homes, Owen said. Seven of them — four adults and 3 puppies — are in foster care and in need of good permanent homes. Two of the dogs have special needs and one is still being held at the shelter, Owen said. She said that Coton be Tulears are usually lively and boisterous, but the dogs from Torres’ home are now shy and timid after being confined to cages their whole lives. ‘‘When they first arrived on January 4th they were dirty,” Owen said. ‘‘Some of them were too terrified to be groomed so we held off for a while. After evaluation they were scared, not potty trained, and they didn’t know what toys were.” The dogs were examined upon their arrival at the shelter, all of the Coton de Tulears had overgrown toenails and some degree of matting. Many of the dogs were malnourished and had ear infections. One dog had severe dental disease. Owen called the treatment of the dogs a tragedy. Those interested in adopting the seven dogs still in need of homes are instructed to visit the Human Society Web site at www.mchumane.org for information about contacting the animals’ foster families. The foster families will arrange a visit for the adoptive candidates, who must also fill out an adoption application and undergo a home visit from Humane Society staff. Because the animals have not been around people, they are still getting used to human contact and families with young children would not be appropriate. ‘‘We are looking for an owner that will be patient and committed to rehab,” Owen said.
|
Top Jobs
Loading...
Weekly SpecialsLoading...
Resources |
E-Mail This Article
