Washington County Man Facing Multiple Charges Stemming From Mistreatment Of Animals Case

A sixty-seven-year-old Washington County man has been charged with ten counts related to allegations of mistreatment of animals stemming from a Washington
County Sheriff’s Office investigation that resulted in 34 dogs being seized from a Town of Wayne property in late January.

Russel Quaas will appear in Washington County Circuit Court on April 3rd to face the allegations.

Quaas was found operating a non-licensed dog breeding business out of a property near the village of Kewaskum.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said their investigation began when deputies received an anonymous complaint about dogs being tied to trees and not having proper shelter.

While investigating that report, Quaas was warned about having more than the allowable three dogs permitted by town ordinance.

Several days later deputies returned with a town official to provide Quaas with a letter notifying him of the alleged violations.

That particular day, the wind chills were well below zero. At that time deputies observed numerous dogs tied to trees and they appeared to have inadequate shelter, food, and water.

Washington County Sheriff’s investigators obtained a search warrant based on probable cause of the mistreatment of animals. The property had no running water or electricity and most of the dogs resided outside.

Some of the dogs were found inside a camper trailer, In many cases, their short leashes did not allow them free movement within their shelter.

A small amount of dog food was located on the property however it appeared as if the dogs were mainly provided leftover pizza from a local carry out chain and frozen moldy animal carcasses.

Workers with the Washington County Humane Society worked alongside investigators to document and seize 34 dogs in total. All but one of the dogs that were seized were Jack Russell Terriers.

Since January 31st, all the dogs have been cared for at the Washington County Humane Society. Several of the dogs required medical attention, however they have all survived.

Sheriff Martin Schulteis said, “Seizing this number of dogs puts an incredible logistical and financial strain on an animal shelter and we appreciate all of the work they have done in assisting our investigation and in caring for these dogs.”

The dogs are not available for adoption pending legal steps in the case that need to be taken for the Washington County Humane Society to take ownership of
the dogs. Once that takes place, they would then be available for adoption.