Dogs Abandoned in Colorado Boarding Facility Without Food or Water: Sheriff

An investigation has been launched after a number of dogs were found abandoned at a canine boarding facility east of Denver, Colorado.

Officers from the Gilpin County Sheriff's Office arrived at the Just Like Home Dog Boarding facility last Sunday to find 13 abandoned dogs on the property without access to water or food, 9News reported.

There were six dogs outside, and seven dogs inside, all in kennels, Cherokee Blake from the sheriff's department, told the news outlet.

Officers were also concerned at the state of the backyard, which held several safety hazards, the news outlet reported.

"Looking in the yard, there was some things that was a safety concern for the puppies you know, nails laying in the yard, sharp objects that could have potentially hurt the puppies," Blake said.

Some of the dogs' owners had left them at the boarding facility while going out of town and officers were able to contact some of the owners to reunite them.

Bre and Corey Tonjes were one couple that had left their dogs with the boarding facility, 9News reported.

The couple usually leave the dogs with family, however, when that fell through, they looked for other options.

"I decided to go online on one of my breaks at my job and found the place on Craigslist. Normally, I wouldn't do anything from Craigslist, but we saw he had a website, there's really good reviews on the website.

"I text him right away and he said he could help us out," Corey told 9News. "We dropped them off on Thursday and we got called on Sunday. So they were there for a good three days."

The owners came to pick up their dogs—an Alaskan malamute named Odin, and a corgi called Pixie— from the Foothills Animal Shelter in Golden, after officers transported them there.

The Tonjes' were upset that there dogs had been subjected to such conditions, but voiced relief that they were not harmed.

"She did explain once I'd talked to her a second time that they were both kept in a plastic crate together. And I know plastic crates, they only come so big, even XL ones are pretty small for this big guy," Bre told 9News.

"She even said at the animal shelter when we'd picked them up that it was small enough that Odin couldn't turn around and that Pixie was shoved in behind him."

Corey told the news outlet that the dogs were like their kids and they had owned them for a long time.

"I would never have my children treated like that and I definitely would not want that for my animals. It was aggravating," he said.

Officers have launched an investigation into the incident and are currently trying to talk to the boarding facility's owner.

"It's under investigation and there are pending charges based on what we uncover," Blake told 9News.

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