Blanchard man arraigned after 63 dogs seized from property
Isabella County Animal Control seized 63 dogs from a Blanchard man’s property Feb. 27, according to court records.
Levi Yoder, 41, was arraigned on March 5 on a charge of abandonment/cruelty of ten or more animals. The felony charge carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison, a $5,000 fine, up to 500 hours of community service or any combination of all three. Yoder has a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 21 at the Isabella County Courthouse.
The complaint read that the dogs were kept “in inadequate sized cages with unsanitary conditions.” There were no vaccination records or dog licenses available, according to court documents.
On March 1, the Humane Animal Treatment Society took in 58 dogs after they were seized from the property. HATS was in need of money and supply donations. As of March 12, the post has received more than $7,700 in donations.
The HATS Facebook page made a post on Tuesday announcing that some dogs of the dogs taken in were ready to be adopted. The post advised that the dogs are scared and provided resources for how to take care of rescued dogs as well as a link to those looking to adopt.
This story will be updated.
