California woman arrested after stench leads to 25 alive and dead dogs found at home
A reported “stench of feces” from an El Dorado County backyard last month led to the arrest of a woman on animal cruelty charges Tuesday after authorities discovered more than 20 alive and dead dogs from the home.
The dogs were found at the home in the area of Tea Rose Drive in El Dorado Hills, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday in a Facebook post.
El Dorado County Animal Services officials received multiple complaints about a month ago reporting “a stench of feces” coming from the backyard and the home in the residential neighborhood a few miles north of Highway 50.
Sheriff’s officials said an investigation was launched and continued until authorities obtained a search warrant for the home.
County Animal Services officials and sheriff’s detectives served the search warrant on Tuesday. Sheriff’s officials said about 25 dogs, alive and dead, were removed from the home.
The dogs that were alive were taken to an animal shelter, where they were undergoing care and rehabilitation. Sheriff’s officials did not say how many dogs were found alive.
Detectives arrested the suspect on suspicion of animal cruelty, and she was taken into custody without incident. Her name was not included in the Facebook post.
El Dorado County Jail records indicate Sandra Sharlene Tidwell, 49, was arrested Tuesday by sheriff’s officials at the home in the 3400 block of Tea Rose Drive. She was arrested on suspicion of one count of felony animal cruelty and has since been released from the jail after posting a $10,000 bail bond.
This story was originally published July 20, 2022 at 8:15 PM.
