Jefferson County Animal Control officers recently seized 47 dogs and a quarter horse from a home in the 2700 block of Lee Pyle Road east of De Soto. Vicki Goetz, 59, owns the home and was not supposed to own or live with animals, according to a probation agreement stemming from an animal neglect case litigated in 2021, authorities reported.
Goetz is scheduled to appear in Jefferson County Municipal Court on July 15 for allegedly violating the terms of her probation from that previous case, when dozens of animals also were seized, court records show.
The most recent seizure of animals happened on March 31, and on April 10, a Jefferson County Municipal Court official said that case was still under investigation.
Goetz pleaded guilty in July 2021 to violating county ordinances for animal cruelty and animal neglect after she was charged with two counts of animal cruelty for knowingly or intentionally causing illness, injury or suffering to two dogs, and one count of animal neglect for failing to provide adequate food and water for 97 animals she was harboring at the De Soto-area property, according to court documents.
Jefferson County Municipal Judge Juli Hand placed Goetz on two years’ probation on July 15, 2021, and prohibited Goetz from owning animals or residing where animals were kept. In addition, Goetz was ordered to allow Jefferson County Animal Control to randomly inspect her county residence, court papers said.
On Dec. 15, 2022, Animal Control officers reported that they saw a horse on Goetz’s property in violation of her probation, and the Jefferson County Municipal Court issued a probation violation notice on Jan. 4.
In March, Animal Control officers and a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputy took the animals after they obtained a search warrant to enter the property, according to the report.
At the time, the homeowner reportedly told the officers she had about 20 animals on the property, but officers found a total of more than 40 animals in the home, a garage, barn and kennel on the property. Many of the animals were found in spaces with soiled floors, the report said.
Five dogs were in a garage; two were in a laundry room; a dog was found roaming free in the home’s kitchen; two dogs were kept in kennels in the living room; a dog was kept in a kennel in a hallway; two dogs were kept in a bedroom; one dog was found in a hallway bathroom; a dog and eight puppies were found in another bedroom; five dogs were found in the basement with two roaming free, two confined together and the fifth in a bedroom, Animal Control reported.
One dog was found in the kennel building, and 19 animals were located in the barn. There were 18 dogs in five stalls in the barn, and a quarter horse was in another stall, the report said.
Among the dogs were huskies, husky-pitbull mixes, Saint Bernards, Labrador retriever-husky mixes, golden retrievers and English bulldogs, according to the report.
The stalls had wood shavings on the floor, and it appears the stalls were not cleaned and instead wood shavings were added to cover up animal feces, the report said.
Goetz reportedly agreed to surrender the animals to Animal Control.
The puppies and two of the dogs were taken to Ivan Animal Hospital for evaluation and treatment. One of the dogs allegedly was cold, lethargic and had a bloated stomach, and the other dog was thin, and there were concerns she would not produce enough milk for the puppies, the report said.
The other dogs were taken to the Jefferson County Animal Resource Center, where they were examined by a veterinarian technician. One of the dogs allegedly had untreated “hot spots” on her right hip. Two dogs had urine and feces matted into their hair, and a fourth dog had feces impacted in his toes and untrimmed claws that had grown almost into a circle, Animal Control reported.
The horse was taken to an off-site equine facility, the report said.