Skagit County judge orders return of puppies seized from breeder

A Skagit County judge has ordered 28 of 40 dogs confiscated from a Big Lake breeder returned to the owner. The judge, David Svaren, said his original search order was too broad and should not have covered all of the breeder's property.

By Seattle Times staff

A Skagit County judge has ordered 28 of 40 dogs confiscated from a Big Lake breeder returned to the owner.

The judge, David Svaren, said his original search order was too broad and should not have covered all of the breeder's property.

The dogs are not connected to the widely publicized case involving alleged puppy mills in which 450 dogs were seized near Mount Vernon and another 150 from a house near Gold Bar in Snohomish County. The owners in those two cases face animal cruelty charges and have forfeited the dogs.

Many of the dogs seized from the alleged puppy mills are now available for adoption at animal shelters in the region. The Seattle Humane Society will have between five and seven dogs a week for the next several weeks for adoption.

Because most of the dogs were confined in cages, they will need potty training, socialization and may have health issues throughout their lives.

More Local News headlines...

E-mail article Print view Share

Comments (17)

This "judge" will be able to take credit for their next puppy mill bust, in about a year's time. Maybe this "judge" will... Posted on March 24, 2009 at 12:00 PM by Vesta. Jump to comment

Judge needs to be fired if ANY of those dogs dies or ends up being euthanized due to poor care. Posted on March 24, 2009 at 12:09 PM by wsumike. Jump to comment

By golly, he's the judge and he has the right to uphold any citizen's right to abuse animals - those animals belong to the citizen! ... Posted on March 24, 2009 at 2:23 PM by frankin. Jump to comment

Read all comments / Share your thoughts