Pima Animal Care officers were seizing about 30 small-breed dogs, cats and birds from what is described as a breeding operation on Tucson’s East Side Friday afternoon, an official said.
An officer went to a house in the 7500 block of East 32nd Street, near East Golf Links and South Kolb roads, Friday morning and was concerned about the conditions there, said Vicki Ann Duraine, a Pima Animal Care spokeswoman.
Duraine could not say what raised the officer’s concerns. Information about what led the officer to respond to the house was also not immediately available, she said.
Pima Animal Care obtained a search warrant on the property and Tucson police went to the scene just before 11 a.m. to assist, said Sgt. Mark Robinson, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
Child Protective Services was also called to the scene as small children lived at the home, Duraine said.
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No information about whether any citations had been issued or if Pima Animal Care had responded to the property in the past was immediately available.
Officials said the investigation began when a woman purchased a Yorkshire terrier from a woman who lives at the house. The dog later got sick and was taken to a vet. The vet told the woman that the dog was suffering from parvo and it later died.
The dog's owners called Pima Animal Care, which sent someone to the house to check the conditions. Animal Care officials were not allowed into the house but returned Friday with the search warrant.Officials said they removed 29 small dogs, seven birds and three cats.
In addition to the two children, four adults live in the house.
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