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Puppy recovering after being found in garbage bin at Kahaluu home

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COURTESY PHOTO

A puppy that was found alive in a city garbage bin at a Kahaluu home were dozens of other dogs were seized on Saturday was recovering Sunday at a veterinarian’s clinic, a Hawaiian Humane Society spokeswoman said.

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BRUCE ASATO / BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM

A windowless bunker in the backyard of James Montgomery’s Kahaluu home housed about nine dogs without food and water, a Humane Society spokeswoman said.

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BRUCE ASATO / BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM

A windowless bunker in the backyard of James Montgomery’s Kahaluu home housed about nine dogs without food and water, a Humane Society spokeswoman said.

A puppy that was found alive in a city garbage bin at a Kahaluu home where dozens of other dogs were seized on Saturday was recovering Sunday at a veterinarian’s clinic, a Hawaiian Humane Society spokeswoman said.

The puppy was malnourished and it’s full recovery was still uncertain, said Susan Tam, Humane Society spokeswoman.

Officers found the puppy and a dead dog in a garbage bin on Mahakea Road Saturday morning after receiving a call about someone throwing away live dogs, police said.

Officers arrested James Montgomery, who pleaded guilty to numerous counts of animal cruelty 10 years ago, for investigation of second-degree animal cruelty and released him Saturday night, pending investigation.

Also Saturday night, police served a search warrant at Montgomery’s home and Humane Society investigators seized 34 dogs from his property, several of which were housed in a windowless bunker at the rear of Montgomery’s backyard.

A Humane Society spokeswoman said about nine dogs were housed in the bunker without food and water. She said the bunker did not have ventilation and a revolting odor was inside. The remaining animals were housed in other parts of the house.

The dogs were being treated and assessed today at the Humane Society’s headquarters on Waialae Avenue.

12 responses to “Puppy recovering after being found in garbage bin at Kahaluu home”

  1. sailfish1 says:

    It appears that this guy did not learn anything after he “pleaded guilty to numerous counts of animal cruelty 10 years ago”. What kind of sentencing did he get at that time? I hope he gets 10 years in prison and a huge fine ths time.

  2. koadog says:

    Thank you to the kind person that called the police. I hope the Humane Society will make an effort to find these dogs good homes. We must always remember to call the police whenever there is cruelty to animals, children and elderly folks.

  3. justmyview371 says:

    What was that a photo of before? A bomb shelter? An illegal moonshine operation? Strange!

  4. star08 says:

    Put this guy in the bunker w/o food and water as punishment. L

  5. nomu1001 says:

    Commend Montgomery’s daughter for having the courage to do what she did.

    From the KHON website (hope it’s ok to post this), here is the news story:

    It’s a heartbreaking story as 34 dogs were rescued from filthy conditions in a Kahaluu home Saturday evening.

    Police arrested part-time breeder James Montgomery for animal cruelty and was subsequently released pending investigation.

    His daughter, 20-year-old Lydia Montgomery, was the one who first alerted police of the dire situation and spoke exclusively to KHON2 on camera Sunday.

    Police described the conditions at the Montgomery house as “bad … similar to a sewage smell.”

    But Lydia Montgomery said conditions were much, much worse.

    She said there were at least 12 dogs upstairs with several dozens more in the basement. “The ones below, it was very slippery in there,” she said. “It was coated with dog feces. There were no windows, absolutely no light in there. It was pitch black.

    “There was this foul smell. You’ll never forget it. It makes your spine and whole body shake with utter disgust.”

    Montgomery lives at home. Besides alerting police, she also helped the Hawaiian Humane Society with the rescue Saturday night.

    “I wanted help. I always wanted help, for a long time.”

    Authorities found two dogs in the trash bin, one of them shot to death. “When I went down there to see the dog in the trash bag for the first time, there were tears in his eyes.”

    In 2005, more than 60 dogs were confiscated from the Kahaluu house by the Hawaiian Humane Society. James Montgomery pleaded guilty to 55 counts of animal cruelty. A judge’s ruling allowed him to reclaim all of his dogs, but he was also ordered to sell them.

    When asked did anything change afterwards, Lydia Montgomery said “No, it got worse.”

    She said that she’s spoken to her father.

    “I wanted to report that. I wanted them to seize the animals in the basement, just to get my dad to think twice about what he’s doing.”

  6. Tita Girl says:

    He needs to go to prison this time around and should never be allowed to own animals again.

  7. RKC808 says:

    He is one sick dude. No cure for whatever he has. Send him to Syria with a US flag shirt. And Im not joking

  8. Keonigohan says:

    Despicable human being.

  9. sjean says:

    Irony. James Montgomery is a hardcore born-again “christian.”

  10. W_Williams says:

    He should have been put out of business the last time.

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