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1 Abused Dog Leads To Others

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By JOSH POLTILOVE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 21, 2007

Linda Heinz was horrified when she saw Hero, a Great Dane, living in the back of an old sedan at a Polk County home. 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, shredding her jeans up to the pocket and leaving her with cuts and teeth marks on her left shin and calf.

Heinz called law enforcement again. She says she had called after taking Hero, but deputies had not 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's Office said.

Dogs In Trouble

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 was charged only 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 dogs 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.

The Rusts were not living there. Patricia Rust's home address was 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.

Years Of Complaints

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 is not 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, she said. His 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, Heinz said.

Hero has gained about 15 pounds. He is still too underweight 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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