Cops: Teens found with feet "caked" in dog feces in home with 24 Chihuahuas
PORT ST. JOHN, Fla. -- A Florida woman has been charged after authorities say she kept her two children and 24 Chihuahuas in a home filled with dog feces, trash and roaches.
News outlets report that 52-year-old Tamara Daniels is facing a charge of child neglect with great bodily harm after Brevard County deputies inspected her Port St. John home Sunday night upon noticing its condition and foul smell while on another call.
Investigators say the children, who weren’t enrolled in school, had dog feces “caked” to the bottom of their bare feet.
Bay News reported the children were twin 14-year-old boys. Cpl. Dave Jacobs, a spokesman for the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, told Crimesider he couldn’t confirm the children’s ages but said he believed they were teenagers.
Brevard County Sheriff’s officials said the home was in “no way safe for the animals, let alone the children who also were in the residence,” reports CBS affiliate WKMG.
The Department of Children and Families has removed the two children from the home. Daniels’ 24 dogs are now in the custody of the SPCA of Brevard.
Four of the dogs are pregnant, the station reports. They will be placed in foster care until they give birth and their puppies grow old enough to be adopted. The rest were expected to be put up for adoption within two weeks.
The SPCA has nicknamed the dogs the “Chipolooza Crew,” describing them as “sweet and loving considering the conditions from which the came,” according to WKMG. The group is raising money for the dogs’ veterinary care.
It’s unclear whether Daniels has an attorney.