{"id":420499,"date":"2026-10-06T19:24:07","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T19:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/420499\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T19:24:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T19:24:07","slug":"florida-woman-arrested-after-30-dogs-found-in-filthy-conditions-disabled-man-neglected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/420499\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida woman arrested after 30 dogs found in filthy conditions, disabled man neglected"},"content":{"rendered":"

NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A North Fort Myers woman is facing 31 charges after deputies found 30 dogs living in overcrowded, filthy conditions and a disabled adult living without a bed inside the home, per deputies.<\/p>\n

Deputies with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office<\/a> responded to the home after receiving a report of suspected animal hoarding and a deceased dog outside the residence.<\/p>\n

When they arrived, deputies said they immediately smelled decomposition coming from a kennel in front of the garage. A deceased dog was found inside.<\/p>\n

Deputies with the 1st Precinct Crime Section<\/a>, Animal Cruelty Task Force<\/a>, and Lee County Domestic Animal Services<\/a> then searched the home.<\/p>\n

Inside, they found dogs confined to overcrowded kennels surrounded by feces and urine. Deputies said the odor was so severe they had to wear gas masks and protective equipment to enter the home.<\/p>\n

See also: After arrest, Israel Bonds opponents plan return to Palm Beach County commission<\/a><\/p>\n

Six puppies were found in one kennel completely covered in what investigators determined was their own feces, according to the sheriff’s office.<\/p>\n

The home had no functioning air conditioning, limited ventilation, and inadequate drinking water for the dogs. Several were significantly underweight, while others showed signs of untreated injuries, deputies said.<\/p>\n

Lee County Domestic Animal Services<\/a> helped remove 30 living dogs and one deceased dog from the home.<\/p>\n

During the investigation, deputies also found an adult man with a mental disability living at the residence with his parents. Deputies observed numerous bites on his body, which they believed could have been caused by fleas inside the home.<\/p>\n

Special Victims Unit detectives responded to investigate the man’s living conditions.<\/p>\n

According to the sheriff’s office, the man’s bedroom had no bed and was covered in trash. The home also did not have running water.<\/p>\n

The homeowner, identified as Mary Paulis, arrived shortly after deputies began investigating and was detained.<\/p>\n

Paulis was ultimately charged with 31 counts of aggravated animal cruelty and neglect of a disabled adult.<\/p>\n

Sheriff Carmine Marceno called the conditions “absolutely inhumane” and said his office’s mission is to protect people and animals who cannot protect themselves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A North Fort Myers woman is facing 31 charges after deputies found…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420500,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-420499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420499\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}