LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. (CBS12) — Eighty-eight German Shepherds are finally safe after federal agents raided a Texas breeding operation where dogs were reportedly killed.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue said the December 29 rescue followed a tip about extreme cruelty at Giant German Shepherd Ranch in Hopkins County, owned by Kristine Hicks. What authorities found was shocking: more than 100 dogs living in squalor, many in critical condition.
The case was escalated within hours thanks to a newly formed Federal Animal Cruelty Task Force, that the founder of the Big Dog Ranch Rescue helped push for. The task force includes U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, Lara Trump, Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr., BDRR President Lauree Simmons, and Blair Brandt. Within days, the FBI and USDA executed a search warrant, deeming the dogs unsafe to remain on the property…