Puppy mill owners found guilty of animal cruelty

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Raleigh, N.C. — A Wilmington couple arrested this month on animal cruelty charges pleaded guilty Friday to dozens of charges, the Brunswick County District Attorney's Office.

Amelia and Andrew Millis pleaded guilty to 24 counts each of Class I cruelty to animal charges and were placed on probation for 36 months.

In addition, they are banned for life from possessing any animal. Both will be subject to frequent warrantless searches for compliance, the district attorney's office said.

On Aug. 3, Brunswick County sheriff's deputies and animal rights advocates rescued more than 150 dogs, more than two dozen birds and one cat from a double-wide trailer with no electricity in Leland.

Most of the remaining dogs were sent to SPCAs in Guilford and Mecklenburg counties, but the SPCA of Wake County is expected to put 39 of the dogs taken from the puppy mill up for adoption.
Anyone interested in adopting an animal should contact the group directly.

WRAL  http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/11441455/

Puppy Mill Raided in Leland NC

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/11390885/

Leland, N.C. — Animal rescue groups and the Brunswick County Sheriff's Office seized more than 100 dogs from a suspected puppy mill Friday afternoon in Leland.
More Info Focal Point: 'Puppies and Politics'
Kim Alboum, director of the North Carolina Humane Society, said the animals, which include poodles, Yorkshire terriers and shih tzus, have been living in tight, uncomfortable living conditions in a doublewide trailer without electricity.
Cages were stacked on top of one another, and in some instances, rescuers found cockroaches crawling on puppies.
Alboum described the living conditions as "atrocious."
"This is the worst puppy mill I have seen in North Carolina," she said. "Those animals inside that house were suffering immensely. It is filthy, disgusting."
Brunswick County sheriff's deputies arrested the dogs' owners, Andrew and Amelia Millis, of Wilmington, on charges of animal neglect and animal cruelty charges, but authorities did not have the exact charges Friday evening.
A final count on the number of dogs rescued also wasn't available.

They were being evaluated Friday evening and were to be taken in by animal rescue groups, including the SPCA of Wake County, where their health would be further evaluated before any dogs could be put up for adoption.
The SPCA said it will be a minimum of a week before any of the animals they receive will be put up for adoption.
Anyone interested in doing so should contact the SPCA.
According to the Humane Society, rescuers pulled 1,000 dogs out of puppy mills in North Carolina last year.
Friday's marked the ninth bust in the last 18 months.

• Reporter: Cullen Browder
• Photographer: Pete James
• Web Editor: Kelly Gardner

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