Criminal charges brought against LeRoy dog breeders

Mar. 18—LEROY, Minn. — A rural LeRoy couple has been charged with multiple counts of mistreatment of animals weeks after officials took 15 German shepherd dogs and puppies from their property.

Elham Alayyoub, 45, and Donald Anderson, 79, were each charged with nine counts of misdemeanor mistreatment of animals in complaints filed in Fillmore County District Court on Monday morning, March 18.

The Fillmore County Sheriff's Office and Animal Humane Society

executed a search warrant at their home in Beaver Township,

near LeRoy. They seized the animals, which included seven adult dogs ranging in age from 2 to 4 years old and eight puppies, two about 6 months of age and six puppies that were 8 weeks old at the time. The dogs are in the care of the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley.

The Fillmore County Sheriff's Office began investigating the mistreatment of the animals after Anderson contacted the agency in February to report his dogs were being poisoned. Anderson said two of his breeding German shepherds had died within about two weeks. Anderson said both had been vomiting blood before their deaths, according to a search warrant.

According to the criminal complaint, Investigator Sgt. Daniel Dornink suggested to Anderson he have a veterinarian examine the recently deceased dog. A report from the University of Minnesota's laboratory, which examined the deceased dog, found the dog was "markedly underweight" and in "poor condition." The dog was dehydrated and at a high risk of starvation, the report shows. The cause of death was determined to be cardiovascular failure, along with intestinal volvulus — a twisted intestine.

The charges come on the day when testimony was held in a civil hearing in Fillmore County District Court challenging the seizure. Testimony began on March 8 and was continued to March 18.

The criminal complaints filed against Alayyoub and Anderson describe the dogs as underweight and having low muscle mass.

According to the criminal complaint, all the dogs appeared to be suffering from malnutrition, and most had matted fur caked with urine and feces.

Tia, a 1-year-old pregnant female, appeared to be suffering from chronic malnutrition, the complaint shows. Tia gave birth to a litter of puppies at the Animal Humane Society, according to testimony in the March 8 hearing.

During the civil hearing on Monday, a veterinarian with the Humane Society said the 15 dogs plus a newborn litter of puppies seized were gaining weight.

Steven Hovey, who represented Anderson and Alayyoub in the case, asked Dornink whether he had a preconceived notion to seize the dogs. Hovey noted that veterinarian records indicate some of the dogs weighed as much if not less when checked by veterinarians in 2021 and 2022.

He submitted audio recordings from Feb. 13, 2024, of conversations with Anderson and Alayyoub in which Dornink said the couple would need to come up with a plan to get the German shepherds in better condition.

"The very next contact you had with the Andersons is when you came out there with the Humane Society and took the dogs, correct?" Hovey asked.

"Yes," Dornink said.

Dornink, who visited Anderson's farm with veterinarian Jim Hanson, of Cresco, Iowa, said the couple didn't seem receptive to Hanson's assessment of the dogs' conditions and that when he returned more than a week later, they didn't appear to have a plan in place to improve the dogs' health.

"Had the place been cleaned up and conditions improved, we may have worked with them longer," Dornink said.

Animal Control Officer Ashley Pudas said the living conditions and the dogs' physical conditions warranted taking them. She said the kennels in which they were kept were covered in feces, urine and appeared to be blood. Photographs Dornink took from his Feb. 13 visit shared in the testimony appeared to confirm her observations. The photos show the floor covered with cardboard that appears wet and to have caked fevers or mud.

Pudas said the smell was strong enough that she could smell it before entering the building and that the feces appeared to have built up over an extended time.

The dogs also appeared malnourished, she said.

"If I can see hip bones on a long-coated dog, something is wrong," she said.

None of the dogs examined had a body condition score greater than two on a scale of one to nine.

Dr. Ashley Plotkowski, a veterinarian with the Animal Humane Society in the Twin Cities metro, said all the dogs appear to be gaining weight.

District Court Judge Jeremy Clinefelter will make a decision on the case.

The dogs remain in the custody of the Animal Humane Society at a cost of $35 per day, per dog. Clinefelter scheduled a hearing for the ruling and any other motions for April 9.