Dogs seized in Richfield, why no arrests have been made

As the 46 puppies that were illegally transported to Washington County found new homes on Tuesday, FOX6 News learned why the man who brought them to Wisconsin in the back of his pickup has not been arrested.

RICHFIELD, Wis. - As the 46 puppies that were illegally transported to Washington County found new homes on Tuesday, Sept. 6, FOX6 News learned the man who brought them to Wisconsin in the back of his pickup has not been arrested.

A lieutenant with the Washington County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday this investigation is ongoing and complicated.

A new puppy can be a handful. Forty-six puppies are a lot for one person to take care of.

"She knew him on a personal level and was concerned that he didn’t have the capacity to care for that number of animals, so she reached out to us," said Lt. Tim Kemps.

Kemps said that call led them to find the 46 puppies and one adult dog at a man's home in Richfield.

"When they were found, in some cases, there were multiple dogs per kennel," said Kemps.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

FOX6 News talked to the person who called police, who shared screenshots from Friday.

The man posted on Facebook: "If anyone is feeling generous tomorrow and wants to come help wash 52 rescue pups, that'd be really awesome of ya!"

He then posted: "A lot of pups available starting Saturday for adoption!"

He also posted a photo from his trip north with the dogs with the caption: "I feel ya bucky, I feel ya."

FOX6 News blurred the man's name because he has not been arrested nor charged. FOX6 stopped by the man's home Tuesday afternoon, and he did not appear to be home. Shortly after we left, we saw several sheriff's deputies pull onto his property.

We asked Kemps why he wasn't arrested on the spot.

"A couple reasons," said Kemps. "It’s a pretty complex investigation. There's two angles to it. It’s really a licensing investigation as well as making sure we don’t have any cruelty of animals issues or anything of that nature."

Lt. Kemps said Tuesday he expects the investigation to be wrapped up in about a week. He said it appears the man brought the dogs here with the intent to sell them.

While the man's Facebook post mentioned 52 dogs and only 47 were handed over to the humane society, Kemps said he believes the man did not know exactly how many dogs he had. Kemps said he does not believe any dogs are missing.

The man turned over all the dogs to the Washington County Humane Society, where most found new homes Tuesday.