PANAMA CITY — A woman arrested in connection with a “puppy mill” has pleaded not guilty to the now upgraded 17 felony charges of animal cruelty against her, according to court documents.
Lindsay R. Sanders, 33, was arrested in February and charged with 15 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and two felony counts after investigators found malnourished Great Danes and two dead puppies at her Youngstown home. Prosecutors filed 17 counts of felony animal cruelty this week against Sanders, named as a co-defendant in the case. Sanders pleaded not guilty Tuesday to those charges.
Sanders’ husband, who has been named in connection with the case, remains in custody in South Florida.
Several of the Great Danes seized from Sanders’ home were taken to the Northwest Florida Great Dane Rescue, where they have been dubbed the “Bay County 13.”
Deputies found kennels inside the home of Sanders and Mark Tyus, 38, which previously was reported as a “puppy mill,” officers said. Inside, the deputies found feces on the floor and moldy food in the bowls. One kennel contained the bodies of two lifeless Great Dane puppies.
Bay County Animal Control removed 15 Great Danes from the Troy Road property in February that were in “distress” and alerted BCSO to the residence. Numerous dogs were in outdoor kennels that appeared to have not been fed or cared for properly, BCSO reported.
“The Great Danes were extremely thin to the point you could see their ribs and tailbones,” officers reported.
Water dishes within the pens allegedly were dirty, with green algae lining the insides.
The officers also reported seeing “several pens without dogs in them” where they “observed bones (skulls) inside of them which appeared to have K-9 teeth.”
Sanders was not inside the home when officers attempted to contact her, but they were able to reach her by phone. BCSO said she admitted staying there with Tyus before leaving a man named “Red” in charge of caring for the dogs.
Sanders said she “went on a honeymoon and left a man they knew as ‘Red’ on the property,” BCSO reported. “They had met him in a bar in mid-December. He needed a place to stay and they needed a caretaker for the dogs while they were gone.”
However, the neighbors said they had only seen the couple at the residence.
Sanders and Tyus were arrested in Hillsborough County on unrelated charges, including possession of a controlled substance. Sanders was released before BCSO issued a warrant for the couple’s arrest, but Tyus remained in jail. BCSO officials said they are waiting for his release from custody to extradite Tyus to Bay County.
Pictures released by the Northwest Florida Great Dane Rescue display several of the “Bay County 13” recovering from the months of malnourishment that preceded their rescue. It was not clear Wednesday how many have been adopted and how many remain in the care of the Great Dane Rescue.