Tj
Palmer,#2Author of original report
Thu, August 10, 2006
She may have been cleared only due to a legal technicality, but just wait she will be at it again and I guarantee you she will be at Canton's First Monday in a few weeks. She has been doing this for years, so she is not going to stop.....maybe be more careful but her addiction and greediness will let the law catch up with her again in the near future, and the next time they will be more careful to make sure they don't make a mistake so they can put this woman where she belongs - behind bars.
Elizabeth
Centerville,#3Consumer Comment
Wed, August 09, 2006
This article is in the August 9,2006 edition of the Bryan-College Station Eagle. I am just posting a newspaper article. This is not my work or my opinion. Bryan woman cleared in puppy mill case By CRAIG KAPITAN Eagle Staff Writer A Bryan woman accused several times in recent years of operating an illegal puppy mill out of a residential neighborhood was cleared of 24 misdemeanor charges Tuesday after a judge ruled her home had been improperly searched by police. Attorneys said Diane McInnes could have faced fines of up to $12,000 for the Class C misdemeanors - all of which were for not having proper licensing information and rabies vaccinations for the dogs. But officers entered her Barak Lane home without a search warrant and without permission, defense attorney Bruno Shimek argued before Municipal Judge Latham Boone III. "The search of her residence was illegal," Shimek said Tuesday, after Boone announced his decision to suppress all evidence obtained as a result of the search. "She was happy that the judge did what he should do." The raid on McInnes' home occurred in June 2005, after police said they received a tip from neighbors that the frequent offender was at it again. It was far from her first run-in with authorities over the years. Following a raid of her home in 2004, McInnes had been ordered by Boone to sell 19 birds and give up 20 dogs that the judge determined were cruelly confined. Several months later, her home was raided again, causing a justice of the peace to order that 14 dogs and 12 birds be permanently removed. Three other dogs died due to health problems while in custody, officials said at the time. During that hearing, animal control officer Patti Stepp described finding a room in McInnes' house with a "putrid smell" that contained 18 puppies in cages. McInnes was fined $250 in municipal court several weeks later for operating a kennel in a single-family zone. She also had been fined one other time - in 1999 - for keeping more than four dogs in her home, according to court records. Prosecutor Albert Navarro pointed to McInnes' history Tuesday while expressing disappointment at the judge's ruling. "We know it is an ongoing problem," he said, adding that he saw no wrongdoing on the part of police. "It is our job as city prosecutors to make sure people conduct business within the rules and regulations of this city." Bryan Police Department officials agreed with Navarro Tuesday that they did nothing wrong in searching the home after an undercover officer had posed as a potential pet buyer, viewing her setup first hand. "The Bryan Police Department conducts regular training on search and seizure," said Lt. Wayland Rawls. "We did everything we could to obtain evidence and ensure proper prosecution, but it's court - you win some, you lose some." Shimek said Tuesday his client feels vindicated by the judge's decision. McInnes felt she had been singled out for prosecution due to an ongoing dispute with neighbors, he said. "There's other people who raise dogs in the city all the time," Shimek said, adding that McInnes now has everything up to code. Because of that, he said, she isn't worried about further prosecution.
Kim
Rison,#4Consumer Comment
Tue, July 25, 2006
I have previously filed my own report against Dianne McInnes. We also purchased a chihuahua from her on March 4, 2006 from Canton, TX. No papers were given at the time and after numerous e-mails & unanswered phone calls and rip-off report filed. I finally received papers around mid to the end of May. However, at 8 weeks when we bought her she was 1 pound(Dianne told us she would prob be around 4-5 pounds full grown) & now at 7 months old she is already 7.5 pounds and vaguely resembles a chihuahua! So my question is, Are the papers for real? I too am surprised after the number of reports I have read that SHE is allowed to sell anything. I won't ever buy another dog at Canton again and most definitely not one from her. Good people always look for the good in others but I'm sorry to say there is none here. It is a shame that Canton & the state of TX allow her to continue. Kim Rison, AR USA