Pet Hotel Owner Cited for Obstruction : Inspectors Find Filth in Raid on Kennel

Humane Society officers who raided Kelly’s Pet Hotel on West Morena Boulevard Thursday found just about what they expected: a filthy kennel filled with unkempt animals.

The officers arrived armed with a search warrant, knowing the recalcitrant Ruby Mae Brown would not allow them to inspect the premises of her boarding facility at 1125 W. Morena Blvd., even though granting free access to inspecting officers is required by law. Brown was extremely angry at their presence--as the officers, who had been there many times before, knew she would be.

Brown reportedly threatened Humane Society Officer Bob Glissman, prompting the inspecting officers to request the aid of San Diego police officers, who were standing by. Brown was handcuffed and put in a waiting squad car, but not before shouting to reporters that she had been “set up” by Humane Society officers. She also said they knew she had been at a county hearing that morning and didn’t have time to clean the kennels.

Cited for Obstruction

She was cited for obstructing a peace officer and later returned to the pet hotel, where she also lives, after the officers finished their inspection, said a Humane Society spokesman.

Brown’s reference was to a County Department of Animal Control hearing, scheduled for Thursday morning, which was postponed until next week because the hearing officer was out sick.

County Animal Control Director Sally Hazzard said Brown was given notice last month that her license to operate a kennel was being revoked. Thursday’s hearing was to have been for Brown’s appeal of the revocation, Hazzard said.

Lt. Jim Baker of the Humane Society said the group’s action Thursday was unrelated to the county’s attempt to revoke Brown’s license, but stemmed from customers’ complaints. Baker said he had intended to serve the search warrant Wednesday, but the process was delayed in court.

Convicted in 1984

Brown, 61, was convicted in 1984 of 20 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, neglect and failure to keep a sanitary kennel. She was sentenced to 30 days in jail, fined $1,500 and ordered to pay $5,777 in restitution to the Humane Society.

Inside the boarding facility Thursday, officers filmed and documented the mess they found. A heavy stench hung in the air as they trudged down walkways slick with animal urine, and photographed narrow, concrete dog runs that evidently had not been cleaned for some time.

One room housing several bird cages was cluttered with piles of dirty dishes and mounds of eggshells. A three-legged poodle cowered beneath a table, on top of which a pot of water boiled on a hot plate, next to a bottle of Scotch.

Veterinarian Jim Wehman went from cage to cage inspecting the animals and talking softly to each one, including one frightened puppy he estimated was no more than 4 weeks old.

Humane Society spokesman Larry Boersma said afterward that, although some of the 105 animals in the pet hotel were believed to be ill, none was “in dire circumstances.” No animals were confiscated, he said.

“The conditions that we found were certainly questionable from a humane point of view,” Boersma said. But the conditions on Thursday were not as bad as they have been at Kelly Pet Hotel at other times. Dead dogs were discovered in the kennel on two previous raids, and as many as 228 animals were being kept there at the time of one inspection in January, 1984.

Thursday’s action was prompted by complaints from four customers of the pet hotel who boarded their pets there over the holidays, only to have them returned dirty and in ill health, Boersma said.

Boersma said the Humane Society will submit the information gathered from the inspection to the city attorney’s office, most likely by Tuesday. The city attorney’s office will then consider whether to file criminal charges against Brown.

Scheduled for Trial

Brown is scheduled for trial Feb. 2 on 285 criminal counts ranging from failure to have rabies certificates for the dogs at the kennel to animal abuse and failure to keep a sanitary facility. Deputy City Atty. Fritz Ortlieb, who is prosecuting the case, said the charges stem from inspections conducted by the County Department of Animal Control on May 26, June 30 and Oct. 11.

Each misdemeanor count carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Ortlieb said his office will proceed with the trial and with any further case stemming from Thursday’s raid, even if the pet hotel is closed by the county.

County spokeswoman Sally Hazzard said that, if Brown’s license is revoked, the facility will not be closed immediately. “We would work with her, to make sure that the animals are dealt with in a proper manner,” Hazzard said. “Our main concern is the care, the condition and the quality of care that the animals receive.”

Court records show that, in addition to the 1984 animal abuse conviction, Brown pleaded guilty to petty theft in 1985. She was also charged in 1980 with battery and child endangerment, but information on the resolution of those cases was not immediately available.