Twin Cities animal rescue founder charged with dumping 8 dead pups accused of continuing to buy dogs

Prosecutors are alleging that the founder of a Twin Cities animal rescue organization who stands charged with dumping eight dead puppies along a road in Cottage Grove last fall has defied a court order and continues to do business while hiding behind a pseudonym.

Carley M. Ryan, 36, of St. Paul, has been free on her own recognizance since she was charged in late January in Anoka County District Court with 22 animal mistreatment counts, four of them felonies.

The charges came after an off-duty police officer came upon the puppies Oct. 15 in the tree line near Grey Cloud Island Drive. The discarded dogs were a smaller breed and included a Schnauzer and other similar-sized white dogs, which could also be a terrier breed, police said.

Ryan, the operator of For Furever in Andover, was charged by summons and ordered by the court to remain law-abiding and not operate a shelter or similar facility that takes in animals as her case continued.

However, according to a court filing this week by prosecutors, Ryan has continued to “rescue” dogs using the pseudonym “June” and the business name “Furever North Haven.”

The filing said two people told law enforcement they adopted puppies from Ryan in March, and the dogs fell ill shortly thereafter. When confronted by the people who adopted the dogs, Ryan agreed to reimburse them for some of their veterinary expenses.

Also according to prosecutors, Ryan drove to an out-of-state auction house, bought dogs and returned them to Minnesota.

“It appears the defendant does not appreciate the seriousness of her current charges and is not abiding by her conditions of release,” the filing alleged.

Prosecutors asked the court to impose a bail amount of $5,000 with the conditions unchanged. But Judge Dyanna Street chose to allow Ryan to remain free on her own recognizance under the same conditions, according to court records.

A message was left Thursday with Ryan’s attorney seeking a response to the latest allegations. She is due back in court Nov. 8.

A recent Star Tribune review found that Minnesota’s oversight for pet rescue organizations has difficulty ensuring proper care for animals.

At the time she was charged, Ryan told law enforcement she acquired the puppies found in Cottage Grove from an auction on Sept. 30, and they all contracted a severe gastrointestinal virus about a week later, the charges read. She said they all died over the next week or so without having received any veterinary care, the charges continued.

“The failure to render any medical aid or medication for pain management means that the eight deceased puppies went through a painful and prolonged demise prior to their natural death at the Andover facility,” the criminal complaint said. “[Ryan] indicated that all [eight] dogs died naturally, and none were humanely euthanized.”

Each count against Ryan stemming from the discovery in her Andover facility relates to a specific dog. Each dog’s name started with the letter G, among them Glimmer, Georgia and Gooseberry. The breeds included great Dane, Australian cattle dog, Irish setter mix, English mastiff, shepherd mix, American pit bull terrier, terrier mix, standard poodle mix, miniature poodle and bulldog.

According to the charges, Cottage Grove police alerted the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 18 about their suspicion that the abandoned dogs were related to animal cruelty occurring at For Furever. A sheriff’s investigator went to the facility the next day and noticed a strong scent of feces from outside. He looked in and saw several dogs running loose and many other dogs in kennels.

On Oct. 20, deputies, an Animal Humane Society agent and a veterinarian went in and “were met by an overwhelming odor of feces and urine,” the charges read. The caged dogs were in undersized enclosures that lacked bedding, food or water. All 22 dogs had some form of fecal or urinary injuries to their paws, along with urine stains and feces matted in their coats.