Featured Image Credit: Pueblo County Sheriff's Office
Topics: Animal Cruelty, US News, Dogs, Police, Crime
Liv Bridge
Topics: Animal Cruelty, US News, Dogs, Police, Crime
Warning: This article contains mentions of death and animal cruelty that some readers may find upsetting
A woman has been arrested after her mom with severe dementia was discovered 'mauled to death' in a home with more than 50 'neglected' dogs.
Jessica Hoff, from Southern Colorado, was arrested by the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office on Friday (March 21) more than a month since her elderly mom, LaVonne Hoff, was allegedly mauled to death in their shared property.
The 76-year-old's body was found by police at 5.30pm on February 3 following reports of an unconscious woman at the home, KKTV reports.
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Yet when they arrived, they found the vulnerable woman's dead body at the scene and a 'dozen' of dogs loose or in cages.
LaVonne reportedly had such severe dementia, she required round-the-clock care. But she had allegedly been left alone in the home by her daughter on this occasion when the dogs are believed to have attacked.
Officers noted in a press release that the home was filled with animals, with several dogs running amok around the house, a 'dozen more in cages' and some circling around LaVonne's body as well as seven bird cages.
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Cops on the scene then said the woman appeared to have been attacked by the dogs, and cited an autopsy report that confirmed she died of injuries relating to a dog attack, as per NY Post.
"Detectives learned that while LaVonne Hoff was left alone, she was attacked by the dogs that were loose in the home," police said.
Jessica had reportedly left her mother while running errands in Pueblo and now stands accused of criminal negligence in leaving her vulnerable mom with the dogs and of several counts of animal cruelty.
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Officers obtained a search warrant on the home and of a second property owned by Jessica in Colorado City that revealed the 47-year-old had 54 dogs and seven birds, with many allegedly neglected with poor health and living in 'unsanitary conditions,' officers added.
Animal Law Enforcement have since seized the animals while Hoff has been jailed in Pueblo County Jail on a $50,000 bond, according to online jail records, reports Daily Mail.
She has been charged with criminal negligence resulting in the death of an at-risk adult as well as 54 counts of aggravated cruelty to animals.
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Hoff is scheduled to appear before court on March 27.
If you see an animal in distress and/or in need of help, call 911 if a crime is in progress. You can also visit a directory of animal abuse investigation agencies by state here.