Borough seizes 24 dogs, 5 birds

WASILLA — Mat-Su Borough officials seized 24 dogs and five birds from a woman today who officials say they have previously cited for rules violations.

“Officers had to walk through animal feces to gather the pets,” borough spokeswoman Patty Sullivan wrote in a release regarding the seizure.

The homeowner whose animals were taken was identified as Wendy Rayburn. The borough said she lived near the intersection of Knik-Goose Bay Road and Horizon Drive.

“Twenty four dogs were seized in all. The animal count is 22 Pomeranian mixes, 1 silky terrier and 1 Lab mix,” Sullivan wrote. “Four of the birds are lovebird parrots and the fifth is a conure parrot.”

Rayburn was cited in April, Sullivan says in the release, for not having a kennel license and for not providing sanitary enclosures for the animals. She pleaded no contest to the unsanitary conditions charge and is still waiting for her court date on the kennel license charge, according to the borough and court records.

Animals seized in these types of cases are typically held until either the case has reached a conclusion in court, the owner surrenders them to the borough, or a judge allows the borough to get rid of them, usually through adopting them to other families.

Animal seizures aren’t terribly uncommon in the borough. The last one came May 30 when 28 dogs were taken from a lot in Big Lake. The borough said at the time that those animals were starving.

The largest seizure in recent memory came in January 2011, when 174 huskies were taken from a breeder in Willow. The breeder in that case was slapped with 50 animal cruelty counts and wound up serving time in jail.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.