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In total, 14 dogs were seized from two separate properties related to a single investigation, said the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in a statement Tuesday, Feb. 21.
The probe began when two Cane Corso puppies were brought to BluePearl Emergency Animal Hospital's Philly location on Feb. 8, PSPCA wrote.
The 8-week-old puppies were "lethargic, minimally responsive, and cold to the touch," and veterinarians noted that their ears and tails had recently been cut. The wounds had become infected and the dogs were going into septic shock, they added.
The owner of the puppies never returned to pick them up, and PSPCA animal enforcement officers stopped by their home in Tacony to check in on Thursday, Feb. 16. There, officers said they found seven more puppies with "red, crusted ears" and "scabbed tails" lying around lethargically.
The animals were removed, and the owner allegedly told officers he'd paid a man to operate on the puppies in a North Philadelphia basement. One of the dogs died after the surgeries, and none of them had been given medication or treatment after the fact, PSPCA wrote.
The officers received a warrant to search the North Philly home that same day. Inside, they found a female bulldog who had recently given birth and was suffering from a vulvar prolapse, as well as four bulldog puppies with cropped ears, PSPCA claimed.
Of the 14 dogs seized, only the original two Cane Corsos treated at BluePearl Hospital have been surrendered to PSPCA custody, the organization noted. The others are only in temporary custody "until their court cases are adjudicated or they are signed over by their owners," they said.
Pennsylvania's animal cruelty code prohibits anybody but licensed veterinarians from clipping or docking a dog's tail or ears, PSPCA claims. The procedure is generally done only for cosmetic reasons and puts animals at risk of potentially deadly infections, according to the organization.
“An owner taking his entire litter of puppies to some random person’s basement to perform surgery just to achieve a specific look, and then watch one of them die while the remaining pups continue to suffer is hard to imagine," said Director of Animal Law Enforcement Nicole Wilson.
"Bringing this owner and the butcher who cut their ears and tails to justice is what drives this organization."
No charges have been announced and none of the owners involved have been named by PSPCA.
To submit a tip about this case or another instance of suspected animal cruelty, call PSPCA at 866-601-7722.
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