UPDATE: Eden couple arrested after 310 dogs rescued from property
A Wicomico County couple accused of running a puppy mill on their property in Eden are now facing a total of 168 charges of animal cruelty.
Sheriff’s deputies served arrest warrants for Susan and Robert Murphy on Monday morning.
In April, authorities reportedly rescued 310 dogs from their Eden property on Cooper Road. At a press conference Monday, Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis described to media the horrific conditions the Murphy’s allegedly kept the dogs in.
He told media the involved law enforcement had never seen such an “egregious” treatment of pets, noting it was the worst case Maryland has ever seen.
“There was an inordinate amount of feces and urine in the residences and many locations you could not determine what type of flooring was in the home because of the urine and feces that covered the residence,” says Sheriff Lewis.
According to Sheriff Lewis, 166 dogs were found in their home alone. Several hundred were found in the three out-buildings. They now have evidence to prove these dogs were being bred in inhumane conditions and sold for profit, the very definition of a puppy mill.
“There were also the remains,” he says. “The skeletal remains of many dogs located in these out buildings as well as many puppies who actually gnawed their own limbs off of their bodies. There were many dogs found in very deplorable and egregious health conditions.”
Both suspects are facing 84 counts each of animal cruelty and failing to provide necessary care to the dogs.
According to Sheriff Lewis, building this case against the Murphy’s was a partnership between the Wicomico County Humane Society, Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office, plus the State’s Attorney offices between Wicomico County and Baltimore City.
When 47 ABC asked about the frequency of kennel checking in the county, Humane Society executive director Aaron Balsamo told the media they do checks on people almost daily; however, Balsamo says it was virtually “unheard of” to a find a kennel like the one in Eden.
He also confirms there “were complaints in the past” for this property.
While he could not go into specifics, he also admits they are investigating other kennels with possible connections to the Eden property.
Balsamo also told media Monday that he would like to see stiffer penalties and more regulations; however, he says it’s not an overnight process.
“We really need to take a hard look at what we have on the books right now and see where we could make changes that are going to be effective,” he says. “We can’t just have changes on the books just to have changes. We need to have effective changes if we’re going to look at doing anything legistlative-ly.”
As of Monday, county leaders say almost every single dog rescued from the Murphy’s has been adopted. 27 reportedly remain in care for treatment.
According to Sheriff Lewis, there are no official court dates set for either suspects.
Fundraising efforts for the dogs have raised more than 110,000 dollars for the local Huamen Society as of Monday.
