Sunday, September 27, 2009

Wags 'n' Wiggles Seizure


Woman can’t have dogs back, judge says

Renee Roske, whose dogs were seized in a puppy-mill investigation, had petitioned for the return of six pets.

MOUNT VERNON — When Renee Roske showed up in court here on Monday, she already had obtained Snohomish County pet licenses for the six dogs she hoped a judge would return.

The Snohomish woman went home without her dogs.

Skagit County District Court Judge David Svaren dismissed Roske’s petition to reunite her with the small dogs — four toy poodles, a Yorkie and a Chihuahua — she called her pets. The dogs were among about 450 animals seized in January during a police raid on Roske’s parents’ home near Mount Vernon.

Hundreds of malnourished, sick and flea-infested animals were rescued from the Skagit County property as part of a puppy mill investigation..."
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September 27, 2009: Owner demands return of dogs seized in puppy-mill case

By Jackson Holtz

SNOHOMISH — Renee Roske wants her dogs back.

All six of them.

Romeo, Serena, Hottie, Fabio, Feebie and Chiqua, a Chihuahua who wore a pink collar with “Love” spelled out in rhinestones.

Roske is demanding Skagit County officials return her beloved pets. She says they were taken by mistake when investigators seized hundreds of malnourished, diseased and mistreated dogs from a home near Mount Vernon owned by Roske's parents.

Prosecutors say the dogs she's trying to get back — nine months after they were seized — may be the proof they need to file additional criminal charges in the puppy-mill investigation.

More than 600 dogs were rescued during January raids at two homes in Snohomish and Skagit counties. Court papers say Roske and her dog-breeding business
Wags 'n' Wiggles raked in millions of dollars a year by selling the puppies.

Roske, 45, has not been charged.

Now, the six dogs — toy and teacup poodles, a Yorkshire terrier, and the Chihuahua — are at the center of a legal dispute. Roske filed a petition for the dogs' return on Sept. 10 in Skagit County District Court...." More