Nearly 130 dogs have been rescued from LDR Kennels in Charlo, and will be available for adoption.

Lake County Sheriff Don Bell said his office, in connection with Lifesavers Animal Rescue of Lake County spent all day Friday taking possession of all the remaining dogs at LDR Kennels.

"A plea agreement between the Lake County Attorney's office and the defendants in this case (Larry and Nadine Latzke) they have relinquished all rights to the dogs over to the animal rescue organization," Bell said. "The undersheriff is currently on scene, we've got deputies there, and we're gathering all the crates and all the materials and vehicles to pick up all these dogs, and at some point they will be put up for adoption through that lifesavers association."

Bell said his office has been working behind the scenes for several weeks, marshaling all the various agencies to be ready to pick up the dogs as soon as the legal papers were signed.

"We've been working on it vary hard, kind of covertly, getting people ready to pick up these dogs," he said. "Families throughout the valley were ready to pick up 10 dogs or six dogs. We told them just to be ready, so they're getting all their gear together. We've got sponsors to feed the dogs, so it's a win-win for the dogs that so many people are willing to help."

Bell said there is no lack of people willing to adopt the dogs.

"We're even getting letters from out-of-state, people wanting to come in and help with this, thanks to the media stories," he said. "It's a pretty important story, and I'm thankful for the deputy that investigated it and then went down with a search warrant to get all this started. All the deputies, the vets, and the animal rescue people really stepped forward to help these little animals."

Bell said he knew of only one animal that has died since the investigation into the kennel began, and that was one puppy from a recent litter of five. Bell said between 126 and 130 dogs have been removed and will be available for adoption.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the following organizations for their assistance and advice in this very large and challenging case:

Southshore Veterinary Clinic of Polson

The Mission Valley Animal Shelter

Lifesavers Animal Rescue

Humane Society of Western Montana

Humane Society of the United States

 

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