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Dog Rescuers Tell Of Feces-Encrusted Home In Polk

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 20, 2007

Updated: 12/20/2007 01:35 pm

Linda Heinz was horrified when she saw Hero, a Great Dane, living in the back of the old sedan. The seat was covered with urine and feces, and the 14-month-old dog was 35 pounds underweight and infested with fleas.

Heinz, the president and founder of Great Dane Rescue of Tampa Bay, took in Hero nearly a month ago. On Sunday, she went back to the home with the intent of taking in two more dogs. But another Great Dane owned by the same person attacked her that day, shredding her jeans up to the pocket and leaving her with several cuts and teeth marks on her left shin and calf.

Heinz called law enforcement again. She said she had called after taking Hero, but deputies hadn't been able to track down the owners. On Tuesday, 19 Great Danes were removed from the deplorable living conditions at 10914 Country View Drive, and a couple were charged with animal cruelty, the Polk County Sheriff Office said.

Ten dogs were locked inside the mobile home, covered with urine and feces, officials said. Nine were outside.

Patricia Ann Rust, 62, was charged with 11 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty. Her husband, Mason William Rust, 70, of 2017 Sylvester Road, was charged with 10 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.

Mason Rust said he wasn't involved in the animal cruelty and that he only was charged to help prosecute his wife.

"I am going to testify against her in court," he said.

A deputy found the Rusts at the Country View Drive residence Tuesday. After Patricia Rust was charged with one count of animal cruelty because of Hero's condition, the deputy found the Great Danes in the mobile home.

The home was "encrusted" in feces, sheriff's spokeswoman Donna Wood said. There were 8 to 10 inches of feces in the living room. Feces was piled so high you couldn't see the couch.

The Rusts were not living there. Patricia Rust's home address is unclear, Wood said.

"It was absolutely uninhabitable," Wood said of the property's condition. "It appears as though they turned it over to the dogs."

Two other Great Danes thought to belong to Patricia Rust were found at the Sylvester Road residence. Those dogs also were seized.

The 21 dogs taken to animal control were flea-infested and are being evaluated and treated by veterinary staff.

Heinz said Patricia Rust initially called her nearly a month ago.

"Originally she wanted to give me all the 10-month-old Danes," Heinz said. "She had 16 of them. I called animal control out in Polk, and they said they've been trying to get her for over two years and all they've had is nuisance barking complaints."

On Sunday, she took in a second dog, Hero's sister Contessa, and had planned to take in another dog before being bitten. Contessa was infested with fleas and spent the first three days with Heinz "commando crawling" because she was so scared around people, Heinz said. Contessa isn't ready for adoption, but when she is, she'll be known as Fiona.

When Heinz brought Hero in, he was so skinny his leg bones were sticking out and he had no muscle tone in his rear, Heinz said. His front paws had nails so long that he couldn't keep his feet straight, and he couldn't stand. At 14 months old, he also has advanced arthritis from being kept in one position for a long period, she said.

With the help of Great Dane Rescue, Hero has gained about 15 pounds. He's still too skinny to be neutered, and he isn't ready for adoption.

Heinz doesn't call him Hero. His new name, she said, is Argyle.

"We never keep the Dane's name when they come in if they had lived in abusive conditions," Heinz said. "We don't want them to associate the name with the past. We want a fresh, new start."

News Channel 8 reporter Samara Sodos contributed to this report. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691.

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