Animal cruelty complaint filed

Officers from the Prince William County Police Department's Animal Control Bureau were at a dog rescue for the better part of Monday after receiving a complaint of animal cruelty that provided police with new information into an ongoing investigation.

Sparking police action was a complaint 18-year-old Ashley George and her mother, Natalie Kerns, filed on what the two described as "filthy" conditions at an animal rescue operated out of a house at 7605 Old Centreville Road.

Although authorities could not confirm the names of the complainants, police spokeswoman 1st Sgt. Kim Chinn said residents who brought a puppy adopted from Assisi's Animal Rescue Foundation to the Western District police station Sunday and filed a complaint.

"We did have an ongoing investigation into this place and that really helped us get in there [Monday]," Chinn said.

Police were in the process of

obtaining search warrants as of mid-afternoon, Chinn said, adding that more information would be available today.

Sandra Cortes, who said she started the rescue 18 years ago has

operated it from that house since March this year, denied all the accusations.

Standing across the street from the rescue, George and her friend, 18-year-old Adrian Jackson, described the events that led them to Assisi's Animal Rescue Foundation and to filing the complaint.

The two Manassas Park residents said they went to the rescue Sunday after seeing an advertisement by the rescue on the Web site Craigslist.

But what the two saw when they got there was disturbing, they said. Mason, the dog they ended up adopting, was covered in feces and some of the others looked emaciated, George and Jackson said.

After that, the two told George's mom about the situation and went back to the shelter almost immediately.

During that visit, dogs were biting each other and a man kicked a couple of dogs that had gotten into a fight, Kerns claims.

After leaving with Mason, they said they took the dog to the police station and filed a complaint.

The operator of the rescue organization walked across the street to confront Kerns and George minutes after they and arrived to speak with the Potomac News.

"No matter what they say, we do love the dogs," Cortes said. "It's not a puppy mill."

The rescue, she said, takes in dogs from people who surrender their pet to them and from so-called "kill" shelters that euthanize animals.

And, she said, they do not breed dogs or mistreat them.

According to Cortes, animal control and zoning authorities arrived around 10 a.m. and was later given a letter revoking her kennel license.

She said she has been given the option of

surrendering the 96 dogs and puppies or possibly face criminal charges, and wanted to consult those options with her attorney.

One of the red flags Kerns and her daughter noted was that the paperwork they were given provided conflicting information. One, they showed, claimed the dog was a Labrador while the dog's shot record, which they believe is a fake, lists him as a hound mix.

"I actually want them prosecuted," Kerns said, leaning on the hood of her car. "You shouldn't do this."

Staff writer Elisa Glushefski can be reached at 703-878-8062 or eglushefski@potomacnews.com.