Underfed dogs found outside Pines home in freezing cold now need forever homes
Three Pembroke Pines dogs are steadily recovering — and hoping for new homes — after police said they were found malnourished in a crate outside their former owner’s home during a freeze watch.
Lana, Sasha and Peaches have been taken into new foster homes and are “all eating well, taking their medications and getting all the love they deserve,” according to Pooches in Pines, a nonprofit that works with Pembroke Pines Police Department’s Animal Assistance Program.
Officers said they first discovered the pups — the former two mixed breeds and the latter a French bulldog — cramped in a 4-foot-by-5-foot crate in freezing temperatures Feb. 1 on the front patio of their former owner, Jaylen Holmes.
Police responded to a neighbor’s tip about “several dogs ... appearing malnourished,” reads Holmes’ arrest report, with officers adding that the “bone structure of all three dogs was visibly apparent, including their ribs, spine and midsection.”
When PPPD stepped inside the 24-year-old’s home, officers noted they were hit with a “strong odor of ammonia” from urine and feces on the floor and inside a crate. They also said they found no pet food in the residence, nor drinking water available for the dogs.
Holmes was arrested shortly after police surveyed his home , and he’s since bonded out of Broward Main Jail, per court records. He faces two felony charges of aggravated animal cruelty.
Lana, Sasha and Peaches were brought to Pooches in Pines for medical treatment and care shortly after.
“The smallest pup only weighs 4 lbs (half her body weight) and needed immediate fluids. She’s literally ‘walking bones,’” the nonprofit shared on its Instagram account.
Now “doing great and relaxing” in their new foster homes, according to Pooches in Pines, the pups are slated for another vet check-up to track their progress and are seeking adoptive owners.
Those looking to permanently add any of the three dogs to their family are encouraged to apply via the nonprofit’s online adoption form.
Pooches in Pines will reach out to any prospective owners it believes would make a good match for the pups.
For more information on Lana, Sasha and Peaches’ recovery and rehoming efforts, check out the nonprofit’s Instagram account.
