Mother and Daughter Charged With Animal Cruelty After More Than 80 Dogs Were Rescued From Their Miami-Dade Home

A mother and daughter are facing several animal cruelty charges after more than 80 dogs found living in squalid conditions were removed from their home in southwest Miami-Dade County, officials said.

A mother and daughter are facing several animal cruelty charges after more than 80 dogs found living in squalid conditions were removed from their home in southwest Miami-Dade County, officials said.

Teresa Horta-Barrial, 66, and Maria Y. Crespo, 27, were arrested Friday and were being held on $153,500 bond each, jail records showed. It was unknown whether they have attorneys.


An anonymous report of animal cruelty alerted authorities of the dogs, which were found housed in filthy crates aboard a large truck on the property at 12375 Southwest 248th Street on Sept. 10, the county's Animal Services Department said.

The humane society took in 26 of the dogs from the county. The rest of them are with Animal Services or with other rescue groups. Animal Services said the dogs need loving homes as soon as possible.

"We take any and all animal cruelty allegations very seriously and have zero tolerance for anyone who does not properly care for any animal," said Alex Muñoz, Director of the Animal Services Department.

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