4 Family Members Charged After 50 Dogs Seized From Alleged Michigan Puppy Mill

MIO (WWJ/AP) - Four northern Michigan family members are charged after more than 50 dogs were seized from a home in during an animal cruelty investigation.

MLive.com reports Bradford Quick, Pennie Quick, Noralea Quick and Danielle Quick of Oscoda County are charged with cruelty or abandonment of 10 or more animals and cruelty or abandonment of four to 10 animals.

Their lawyer James Schmier told The Associated Press he couldn't comment Friday because he hadn't yet received information from the investigation.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said the dogs were removed last month from the home in Mio, about 165 miles northwest of Detroit, after unsanitary and overcrowded conditions were found.  The ASPCA says it's believed the dogs were being bred for sale.

The ASPCA said it's believed the dogs — found "living in small wire cages stacked in a crowded, filthy basement and in ramshackle outdoor pens" — were being bred for sale and the operation wasn't licensed.

Most of the dogs allegedly had no access to food or water and were "unsocialized" — meaning they clearly had not been handled much by humans.

"These dogs were living a very sad existence," Tim Rickey, vice president of ASPCA Field Investigations and Response, said.

The animals were taken to a temporary shelter where they received veterinary care.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for Jan. 26.

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