Thank you to the lady who let us know about this new article. I dont want to say your name without your permission and cause you any trouble. THANK YOU to the Everett Herald for reporting the truth and not letting this slip through. It is so important that people know the truth and know how much money Renee Roske was making from HER puppy mill. By the way, This picture with our Countries flag and the hand cuffs was picked out especially for Renee Roske by me (Brandon). I saw this to be very fitting, I even paid around $2.00 for the right to use it. Worth every penny!
Time and again since 1996, officials found dozens more dogs living at Renee Roske’s Snohomish-area home than allowed under county rules.
On one visit, officials found dogs being kept in a dug out subterranean room, the entrance hidden at the back of a closet, according to county documents released Thursday to The Herald.
County officials this week moved again to shut Roske down.
Roske’s dogs weren’t seized until Jan. 16, when Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies and animal control officers raided a home near Gold Bar and found nearly 160 dogs living in deplorable conditions. Many of the dogs found near Gold Bar were covered with fleas, urine and feces. Several dead dogs were found in a freezer.
One of the seized Gold Bar dogs had a microchip showing Roske as the owner, Snohomish County Animal Control manager Vicki Lubrin said.
When sheriff’s officials visited Roske’s home the day after the Gold Bar raid, they found 44 dogs, nearly double the 25 maximum allowed under county law. None was seized.
Sheriff’s officials have said Roske is the center of an expanding investigation into a suspected multimillion-dollar puppy mill organization operating in Snohomish and Skagit counties.
The couple that lived in the home near Gold Bar, Jason D. Larsen and Serrena L. Larsen, both 37, were charged Tuesday with six counts of first-degree animal cruelty, a felony.
Roske’s sister, Mary Ann Holleman, is the registered owner of the Gold Bar-area home where the dogs were found.
Larsen told deputies he paid Holleman cash rent at a Everett restaurant.
Roske’s mother, Marjorie Sundberg, and her husband, Richard Sundberg, were charged last week in Skagit County with four counts of animal cruelty. Officials seized around 450 dog from the kennel Sundberg operated near Mount Vernon.
Snohomish County on Monday took civil action against Roske, Holleman and the Larsens, Lubrin said. They’ve been ordered to cease keeping dogs in ways that appear to violate animal control laws.
Roske has “consistently demonstrated deliberate and repeated violations of the provisions of her private and commercial licenses,” county officials said in documents mailed Monday.
The notice details Roske’s history of violations, including at least eight separate visits by officials. One report, filed on Nov. 7, 2003, described how sheriff’s deputies responding to a domestic violence complaint found more than 40 dogs at Roske’s home, some living in the secret room.
In the back of a coat closet officials found a door that led down a few steps to the small room, dug in the dirt and hidden beneath the split-level entryway, Lubrin said.
In November 2003, the county issued an order demanding Roske cease kennel operations at her home. She appealed.
In 2004, a county hearing examiner gave Roske “one last chance” but warned any further violations would be grounds for “automatic revocation” of her kennel license, county records show.
The county again has given Roske notice they are pulling her kennel license. That means she’ll be allowed to legally keep no more than three dogs.
As part of this week’s actions, county animal control officers fined Roske $100. They also issued a written warning that she is subject to criminal charges and additional fees if she fails to comply.
Roske can appeal. She didn’t return a phone call on Thursday.
Similar civil actions were taken against Holleman and the Larsens, Lubrin said.
Meanwhile, a criminal investigation continues, officials said.
Roske and Larsen have until today to post at least $72,450 in bonds if they want their seized dogs back. They would be required to petition a judge and also come up with enough cash to prove they are capable of providing each seized animal with at least $15 worth of care for 30 days, Lubrin said. Otherwise, the dogs will be forfeited to the county. Then the process of putting the animals up for adoption can begin.
Before any of the dogs can become pets, they must undergo extensive veterinary screening.
“It’s not going to be the very next day that they’re ready to go,” Everett city spokeswoman Kate Reardon said.
Each animal will be assessed to determine the next steps, she said. All the dogs will be microchipped and either spayed or neutered prior to adoption.
Some dogs may require surgery, others rehabilitation in foster care, Reardon said.
“There’s a number of things you’re going to want to look at from an adoptability standpoint,” Dr. Kevin Wilson said. He’s a veterinarian at the Pilchuck Veterinary Hospital in Snohomish.
The most important thing is the dog’s temperament, but a thorough health screening also will be necessary.
“In most cases like this, the vast majority are ultimately going to be adoptable,” he said. “They may just take some extra special care.”
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com
a few years back i went to wags and wiggles with a friend as she was lookin foir a lil dog and she found a add in the little nickle and she wanted me to go with her to find a puppy. When i show up she had few dogs to show you in the front that look fine and in a well kept area but when i asked her how she got the mixture of dogs she explain to me she studded dogs out and would recieve puppy backs to sell to make her profit i walked away and never went back as i new it was a mill
Good for you lildolly!
You know that saying, I wish I knew then, what I know now? That sure does hold true with me. I will never be that naive again. We gotta make it a point to educate more guys like me. I think for the most part, most of us guys just fail to pay attention to this kind of thing.
I have said since the day that Jason and Serenna Larsen were busted in the Gold Bar house, I wanted Jason to do his time and someday maybe we could go fishing again. That was last week, This week after visiting the shelters and seeing what Jason, Serenna and Renee Roske were about I have changed my mind. I hope they ALL do substantial prison time and the courts make an example out of em. I will never speak to the piece of *&^@ again.
Terrah and I were lucky enough to find her favorite dog today. Her name is Boo and she is a brindle (sp?) boxer. It took a trip down to the Seattle Humane Society but we found her. We got to tell them what her name really was.
Anyway, I am getting way off topic here, Good for you for seeing what Renee Roske was about the first time! I wish I would of paid more attention a couple years ago.
I have had a little experience with Renee. I took a puppy into my home after he had been passed around a few times and traced his paperwork back to Wags N Wiggles. The woman who originally purchased him from Renee spent $2000!
For that price, I thought, he had better have a very impressive bloodline. I called Renee to get his purebred papers, and she said that she didn’t keep any records on file. I asked who the parents were, so I might try to track down papers that way, and she didn’t know that either. What breeder doesn’t know who parented the puppies??
She did remember, though, that the woman who purchased the pup exchanged puppies all the time for new ones. I cannot imagine any responsible breeder that would “exchange” puppies like the were Nordstrom’s or something.
I got a aweful feeling from speeking with Renee, and I was glad that my puppy was not one that was “exchanged” back into her horrible care. It was very clear after speaking to her that she was running a puppy mill. Its a shame that they don’t lock her up in the same conditions she kep the puppies in.
It is really sad that Renee is making herself out to be innocent in this. I can tell you first hand that the dogs in gold bar belonged to her. As for her parents, I dont know anything first hand. Renee is a smooth talking women. On my voicemail Renee tried to tell me that she did not know jason had any breeding dogs. But whats funny about that, I cant count how many times I talked to Jason and he told me that he had to take dog X over to Renee’s house because it was going to be sold. I heard that atleast 2x a week. The dogs were bred at Jasons house and then sold through Renee. That was the deal they made.
For that matter, the house in Gold Bar was purchased by Renee strictly for Jason so he could breed more dogs in a rural setting. He told me that himself. It was in her sisters name so the IRS did not know about it. That came first hand from Jason as well. I dont think Renee understands that the cat is out of the bag and I am personally going to sink her like the freaking Titanic