More than 100 dogs taken from alleged puppy mill

More than 100 dogs were taken from a Charlo kennel Friday afternoon after state prosecutors and the kennel’s owner’s reached an agreement to defer prosecution of felony aggravated animal cruelty charges. 

As part of the agreement signed Friday, Nadine and Larry Latzke of LDR Kennels were allowed to keep six dogs that currently reside in their home off Dublin Gulch Road in Charlo. They will not be allowed to get more dogs if any of those dogs dies. The dogs inside the home must immediately be spayed or neutered and cannot be bred. As a result of the agreement the couple looses custody of dozens of other dogs that were found in cages by authorities on the property in allegedly deplorable conditions. 

If the couple breaks conditions of the agreement in the next 10 years, then the state has the option of re-prosecuting the case, which included a single count of felony aggravated animal cruelty being filed against both Larry and Nadine. 

Life Savers Animal Rescue of Polson was awarded custody of the more than 100 dogs. The group is a nonprofit volunteer organization that fosters and helps find homes for abandoned animals. 

The organization’s vice-president Lynette Duford said that the organization rounded up some volunteers, horse trailers, and crates Friday afternoon to get the dogs with a sheriff’s escort of four or five deputies. The dogs were taken to two homes in Polson and one in Missoula. A medical inventory was conducted at the scene and a veterinarian was also evaluating the dogs on Saturday. 

Duford said the dogs have a litany of medical issues. They were kept in small cages and do not know how to walk on the ground or socialize with people, she said. Their feet are sore from standing in double or triple-stacked wire cages.

“All have kind of raw feet,” Duford said. 

 Even giving the dogs a dog bowl to drink water from has been a challenge. 

“They’ve never had a bowl,” Duford said. “They’ve only had rabbit waterers.” 

Many of the dogs need medicated baths to help treat skin issues, and some started receiving treatment on Saturday. 

Duford said that by Saturday morning, nearly 20 people had come by to take a dog aside and get some proper socialization. Other people had contacted her about how they could become foster owners or apply for an adoption application. 

“We have a great group of people in this community that are trying to help,” Duford said. 

One of the ways many people tried to help was donating food and while the generosity is appreciated, there is currently another roadblock to feeding the dogs. Many of the dogs are toothless, but have been fed hard food. 

“We have to figure out what each dog needs and put them on a special diet,” Duford said. “Money for food is a big deal for us because a lot of these little ones have no teeth and they need canned food. That’s not cheap. We have a big demand for some donations.” 

Duford said those interested in helping out can visit www.lsar.org to make a PayPal donation or find applications for fostering or adopting a dog. Cash donations can be sent to P.O. Box 643, Polson, MT 59860. 

The group also has a Facebook page that is providing updates in the case.