A California pet boarding business owner has been arrested, accused of having a client's three dogs killed by an associate.
Vonna Hughes, 68, was arrested Saturday on multiple animal cruelty charges, police said in a news release. The dogs' owner told police that he boarded his three dogs at Hughes' Pet Bath House on June 21. About a week later, Hughes called the owner to say his dogs had gotten loose and into a fight. Hughes asked for additional payment to cover the veterinary bill that resulted from the dog fight, and the owner complied. A couple of days later, Hughes told the owner that the dogs got into another fight, and this time, Hughes was injured. The next day, Hughes told the owner his three dogs had been put down due to their aggressive behavior.
Hughes claimed she had notified police, but the Angels Camp Police Department said they had no knowledge of the case until the dogs' owner called them to file a complaint. As police investigated the case, they determined that Hughes had been deceptive in what she told animal control and police about what happened to the dogs.
Police determined that an associate, Patti Guy, 60, was involved in the killing of the dogs. Guy is wanted by police on multiple charges related to the case.
Authorities do not know the whereabouts of the dogs, and while the lead investigator believes they were killed, the dogs' bodies have not been recovered.
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