Alamogordo woman claims horrendous conditions at alleged puppy mill

An Alamogordo woman claims she witnessed a horrendous puppy mill and animal hoarding situation in Dona Ana County, but is unable to get any help from authorities.

Sunny Aris, the director of the Animal Village in Alamogordo, says she’s frustrated with the Sheriffs Office’s response to what she describes as a gruesome animal hoarding situation.

“They had slaughtered the goats, there were corpses everywhere, the smell was horrendous,” Aris said.

Aris says the property owner notified her of the terrible conditions a tenant kept the dogs in. Photos she took of the backyard show dozens of dogs and puppies living among the carcasses of several dead, decomposing goats. She said she asked the sheriffs office for help, but didn’t immediately receive it. Aris says she got permission from the property owner to start removing the dogs and put them in her care. The Sheriffs Office says it did send somebody to check out the home, but when they arrived, the evidence was long gone.

The Dona Ana County Sheriffs Office tells ABC-7 the property owner did call them wanting the dogs removed, after being involved in a domestic violence situation. But since that person was not the legal owner of the dogs, the Sheriff’s Office couldn’t step in. They say when they went to the homelast Friday, no one was home and they didn’t have probable cause to go inside. They say nothing about dead animals was ever mentioned by the owner.

“The reporting party should have stayed on site to relay that information to the deputy so we could begin a proper investigation,” Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Kelly Jameson said.

Aris is now seeking donations to help care for more than 40 dogs.