By Mollie Markowitz
WMAL
ASPEN HILL, Md. — Dozens of abused dogs were pulled from an SUV in Montgomery County, where they seemed to have been living for days.
Last fall, a 911 call reported around 20 dogs left unattended in a red Ford Expedition outside an apartment building along Weeping Willow Court in Aspen Hill. Police and animal service officers found 33 dogs inside the vehicle.
There were “more dogs than they could count,” according to court records.
The dogs’ former owner, Javier Peralta, 41, of Wheaton, has been charged with 33 counts of animal cruelty. Peralta disputes the allegations.
“My dogs were happy and free,” Peralta said, “For them to say cruelty…it’s just not true.”
Peralta claimed he had raised the dogs over the past 10 years, keeping them for himself, his wife and his five children.
Jack Breckenridge, an animal cruelty investigator with Montgomery County Animal Services Division, said one dog, a 4-month-old puppy, had to be euthanized despite eight hours of emergency medical care.
The remaining 32 dogs were returned to health and transferred to an out-of-state shelter to be adopted.
MORE: MoCo Animal Services nursed the 32 surviving Chihuahuas back to health. Nourishment was the main priority, they tell me.
The dogs were then driven to an undisclosed partner shelter all to prevent Peralta from re-gaining ownership.
Most of the dogs have since been adopted. pic.twitter.com/J0IGFGqWQH
— Kevin Lewis (@ABC7Kevin) April 17, 2018
Reporting by The Washington Post. Copyright 2017 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: Montgomery County Animal Services)
