Two people charged with animal abuse after dozens of cats, dogs seized in Beltrami County

Authorities in Beltrami County received a call in late October. A woman saw a dog — skinny, nearly hairless — run down her road in a rural area near Hines, northeast of Bemidji.

The dog appeared to have come from a nearby property where, the caller said, there were many dogs in small cages with feces built up inside. What deputies found that day, and in subsequent visits, led to animal cruelty charges filed this week against two people who told authorities they were running a pet rescue on the property.

Douglas Ray Erickson, 49, and Debra Kay Marshall, 65, both of Hines, each face 10 counts of animal mistreatment. They made their first appearances in court on Monday and are due back in court later this month.

Authorities said 64 dogs and cats were removed from the property last week, and brought to Animal Humane Society in the Twin Cities. But deputies had counted well over 200 animals on previous visits — and the criminal complaints note that numerous bones and bone fragments were found last week in an ash pile on the property.

Court documents do not indicate whether authorities believe those bone fragments belong to any of the animals believed to be missing.

According to the complaints:

After the initial call in October, a Beltrami County sheriff’s deputy visited the property and spoke to Erickson, who said he and Marshall run a pet rescue for cats and dogs. Erickson reportedly allowed the deputy to see part of the property.

The deputy reported seeing about 25 dogs running around who looked healthy and friendly. But the deputy also saw dogs in metal cages on the ground, with feces built up in the cages. There were long-haired dogs with severe matting and burs. The deputy told Erickson that law enforcement would return in a week.

On the next visit, deputies and animal welfare officials observed similar conditions, court documents allege. They counted 50 dogs and about 200 cats. Many of the animals showed signed of illness, and “in many of the sheds and buildings, the odor of ammonia and feces was so overpowering that deputies had to periodically step outside due to lightheadedness and burning watery eyes,” the complaints state.

After that visit, the deputies told Marshall and Erickson there were serious sanitation and animal welfare issues that would need to be addressed by their next visit in mid-November.

In that November visit, the charging documents allege, deputies found no new dogs present —but some other dogs were no longer there. Many dogs that remained reportedly were visibly undernourished and had dry water dishes. Deputies reported finding several dead cats, and many other cats appeared to be malnourished. There were also clear signs that many of the cats had infections.

Law enforcement began working with Animal Humane Society on plans to seize the remaining cats and dogs once arrangements could be made for their care and housing.

“Everyone at AHS worked as quickly as we could to prepare for receiving up to 300 animals, which would have doubled the number of animals in our entire organization and more than double the number of animals that we would keep in this building at any given time,” Graham Brayshaw, chief medical officer for the Animal Humane Society, told reporters on Tuesday. “It was an all-hands-on-deck work for the past several weeks to get this ready and taken care of.”

In early December, deputies returned to the property with a search warrant, accompanied by members of the Animal Humane Society. The criminal complaints say they found animals still in poor health and living in unsanitary conditions.

Authorities removed 30 cats and 34 dogs — leaving an estimated 170 animals seen in previous visits unaccounted for.

The sheriff’s office said deputies confirmed that four of the dogs were surrendered to a rescue group. Authorities also found ash piles containing small animal bones and bone fragments, with additional bones found inside a woodstove.

“Some bones were larger, consistent with a large dog,” the complaints state.

“This is an active investigation, so we can't speculate on what happened to the missing animals,” the Animal Humane Society’s Brayshaw said Tuesday. “We are examining the numerous bones and fragments that were found on the scene. … Those bones are evidence in this case; this is clearly not the outcome we had hoped for."

Brayshaw described the case — the number of animals, and their condition — as “really worse than most anything we’ve seen before.”

Of the 64 animals now being cared for at a shelter in the Twin Cities, he said, “we've got a lot of really skinny animals that need refeeding and refeeding, trying to put weight back on them.”

“Most of those animals usually will put weight back on and … get ready to get adopted, which would be great,” Brayshaw said. “But sometimes you can have organ damage and things that can be permanent. So we never know that we’re going to have a good outcome for all of them, unfortunately.”

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