COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Boone County judge on Wednesday ruled that the Central Missouri Humane Society will have custody of the dogs who were allegedly abused by a local breeder.
A lawyer for Melissa Sanders, 26, argued the animals she is accused of abusing should be returned to her.
Sanders, of Columbia, is charged with three counts of felony animal abuse and 15 counts of misdemeanor animal abuse after animal control, assisted by Boone County sheriff’s deputies, found 17 living but severely malnourished dogs, five “intact” dead dogs and about a dozen dog skulls on her property. Officers also found four dead dogs outside of her building. Sanders is being held without bond.
Sanders owns Magnum Opus German Shepherds.
Boone County/Columbia Animal Control argued to the judge why the animals should be turned over to the Central Missouri Humane Society to reunite the animals with their owners. Some of the dogs are owned by other people and those owners will be allowed to pick them up from CMHS.
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