Fremont County Man Accused Of Keeping Puppies In House Of Horrors Covered In Feces

A Fremont County man is accused of having dogs and newborn puppies living in a trailer so contaminated with feces and urine that law enforcement officers could barely stand inside without becoming sick. Dan Lee Smith faces 17 misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty, each punishable by up to six months in jail. He is being held at the Fremont County Detention Center and is scheduled for arraignment Wednesday.

The investigation began Jan. 2 when a woman reported her dog had been taken from her home and was later found locked inside a van at Smith’s property, according to an affidavit by Fremont County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Scott Gardner. Deputies were told that Smith had been living on the property for several years out of a truck parked in the driveway because the trailer itself had no running water or heat.

When deputies entered the trailer, they were immediately hit by an “overwhelming odor of feces and ammonia.” Animal feces covered the floor throughout the residence. Inside, deputies located two adult dogs—a male and a female—with the female appearing to have recently given birth. When asked about puppies, Smith reportedly said there were actually two litters inside, one with six puppies and another with seven. “Sergeant Gardner was unable to take a step without stepping in feces,” the affidavit said. Deputies had to leave the trailer because the ammonia smell was so overpowering.

A hazardous materials team later responded to recover the animals. Authorities removed three adult dogs, 12 puppies, and a juvenile cat from the trailer. One litter had been born so recently their eyes had not yet opened; another litter’s eyes were only barely open. Deputies noted there were no visible signs of food or water inside, and they observed dogs eating feces from the floor. The adult dogs appeared unfamiliar with being outdoors. “The adult dogs that were removed reacted in a manner that appeared they had never experienced being outside of the trailer before,” the affidavit states.

The animals were taken to the Paws for Life Animal Adoption Center in Riverton. Shelter Manager Whitney Fontes told Cowboy State Daily that the rescued dogs included two male pit bull mixes and two females—a chocolate Lab mix and a shepherd mix named Nova. “The mamas for sure did not have enough nutrition to be feeding six puppies each,” Fontes said. “They were very skinny. You could see ribs on all of them.” One of the male dogs, Rudy, arrived with a partially healed wound on his hip. “At first he was really nervous about us touching him. We had to earn a lot of trust with him,” she said. “Now he’s snuggly and honestly one of my favorite dogs on the property.”

All of the puppies were claimed before they were old enough to leave the shelter and have since been adopted out, Fontes said. One puppy later contracted parvovirus and died. The cat, later renamed Nemo, was quickly adopted. Fontes said cases this severe are uncommon but not rare—the shelter sees an estimated two to six major neglect cases each year. “It tears us down emotionally,” she said. “We have the most compassionate team you can imagine. A lot of our staff will sit outside with these dogs for hours just earning trust. By the time we’re done, they’re snuggly and they love us. But it’s hard seeing how terrified they are when they first come in.”