(FOX40.COM) — Felix Luis Gonzalez Cruz, 48, of Grass Valley, has been arrested in connection with animal cruelty, with seven dogs being seized on Monday in Nevada County.
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According to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, Gonzalez was arrested after two separate requests for service came in, one of which was a welfare check and the one was for reports of a dog attacking another dog.
NCSO stated that its deputies, alongside animal control, responded on Monday to conduct a welfare check as well as investigate the dogs fighting at a private property on the 17000 block of Greenhorn Road in Grass Valley.
NCSO said that the officials learned that Gonzalez had eight dogs total in his care, two of which were outside when crews arrived at the house. One of the dogs has been tied up with no access to food or water, and the other was roaming the area. One of the two dogs had been in a fight with another dog that was living in the same property.
The other dog required medical attention, and animal control officers worked separately with the owner, NCSO said.
The rest of the dogs were inside the home, which included a mother dog who was with five puppies, officials said. Officers found the residential conditions to be “deplorable and covered in feces, urine, and trash, and lacked water and food.”
Officials said that one of the puppies was found deceased, and the composition of the puppy’s body suggested it had been dead inside the resident’s house for some time.
Animal control officers seized all seven of Gonzalez’s remaining dogs and arrested him for depriving animals of necessary sustenance and causing needless suffering and for resisting arrest, NCSO said.
NCSO stated that the dogs are being cared for by Sammie’s Friends.
