FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Aug. 17 (UPI) -- A Florida Humane Society rescued more than 100 miniature pinscher dogs from an alleged Mississippi puppy mill, an official with the group said.
Carrie Neff, a spokeswoman for the Humane Society of United States said the organization had been investigating a kennel near Biloxi, Miss., that had nearly 200 dogs, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Monday.
Neff said many of the dogs taken from the cramped kennel had been confined to cages and had never been walked or interacted with humans.
John Bullock, the kennel's owner, was discovered shot to death in his van last week, allegedly because of a drug deal gone bad, the newspaper reported.
Dozens of people came to the kennel after Bullock's death and began grabbing puppies. The Humane Society hired security guards to protect the animals, the newspaper said.
The Humane Society's national chapter asked the Broward County, Fla., chapter to travel to the Pascagoula, Miss., shelter, where the dogs were initially taken, because of the Florida chapter's previous experience in handling and placing for adoption large numbers of animals, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
The Florida shelter was noted for rescuing more than 200 animals after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The dogs arrived in Fort Lauderdale Saturday, the newspaper said.
