Most of the dogs seized from an animal cruelty case on June 24 will be returned to the owner today (Aug. 8), after the District Attorney’s office dismissed 94 counts against the dog’s owner.
Columbus County Animal Control will close at noon so APS staff can help process the dogs.
Deborah Dahl, 70, was originally charged with 93 misdemeanor cruelty to animals and one count of practicing veterinary medicine without a license, according to court documents. She was charged with 19 new misdemeanors and two felonies Aug. 4. Those charges are pending.
An anonymous call to the state veterinarian’s office in May tipped authorities off about Dahl allegedly video recording herself performing a surgical procedure on a dog, then sharing the video to social media. The warrants did not specify what was done to the animal.
Dahl had multiple dogs and rabbits in unsafe and unsanitary conditions at her Pone Hill Road home when Animal Protective Services, the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office and officials from the state Dept. of Agriculture Veterinarian’s Office first visited there May 29. They found “dogs pacing atop their own waste” and “the air thick with ammonia”, with cages and kennels stacked on top of one another, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office. One dead dog was found on the property as well.
“This is the largest animal cruelty operation our agency has ever taken on,” Sheriff Bill Rogers said in a press release. “What detectives and animal protection teams encountered at this property was heartbreaking—animals forced to live in filth, many deprived of basic medical care, food, and dignity.”
On June 24, the sheriff’s office, APS, and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) went back to the Pone Hill Road home. Dahl was arrested, and 76 dogs and 14 rabbits seized.
The dogs included Cane Corsos, English and French bulldogs, shih tzus, and mixed breeds. Some of the animals were pregnant when they were confiscated.
The civil suit filed June 27 by the county against Dahl for recovery of expenses said the “dogs were kept in a metal building where it appeared only floor fans were used for cooling.” The lawsuit says that Dahl told investigators one of the dogs “became excited” and died of heat stroke.
The civil suit – which has since been dismissed — said that Dahl admitted “administering a calming agent to a dog” and “utilizing a stapler to staple the dog’s abdominal area closed.”
Dahl reportedly admitted to “removing staples from a cut made in the dog’s abdomen,” the lawsuit said. “Defendant/Respondent stated in a post to the Facebook account user “januarydahl31,” under the name Deborah Ross Dahl, that over Memorial Day weekend, she took in a bulldog-type dog which had recently had a c-section.
“Six days later,
while the dog was still in her care, Defendant/Respondent noticed how “loose the staples were.” She stated the dog’s”insides were trying to escape” and that there was “lots of blood and tissue.”
She also posted that “she (the dog) was squirming and trying to get away, I’m sure it was painful.” She tried to “push it back in, but had to remove four staples to get the tissue back in.”
She notes she “got it as clean as I could, got tissue in again, stapled pulled together and stapled.”
The civil suit said that Dahl stated to Animal Control Officer Cora Parker “that the dog
‘experienced pain and suffering during the removal and replacement of the staples without
proper anesthesia.’”
On July 1, court records show, an additional 14 charges were filed against Dahl, after the animals were examined by veterinarians.
On July 2, two Highland cattle and two donkeys were seized.
Dahl was released on a secured bond.
On July 16, Judge Heath Nance ordered that the case be ready for trial Aug. 1, including having the animals available as evidence, according to court documents.
On Aug. 4, in Chief District Court Judge Scott Ussery’s courtroom, Assistant District Attorney Andre Hogan asked for a continuance. Defense Attorney William Gore said Dahl was ready for trial, and Ussery refused the continuance on those grounds. Hogan then dismissed the charges. Ussery ordered the animals be returned to Dahl by Wednesday. Since some of the animals were out of state, they could not be returned until today.
“The Court takes note that a valid judicial order was entered by the Hon. T. Heath Nance on July 16, 2025, pursuant to NCGS 15-11.1 to produce said animals for trial on August 1, 2025, which the State has admitted in open court by the Assistant District Attorney representing the State that the Sheriff’s Office has failed to produce the animals,” Ussery’s order said. The sheriff’s office was ordered to return a cell phone and all live animals to Dahl.
State law considers animals as property, and if a case is dismissed or the defendant found not guilty, any evidence taken from the defendant’s personal property must be returned.
The same day, warrants were issued charging Dahl was charged with two felony counts of cruelty to animals and 19 counts of misdemeanor cruelty. She posted $15,000 secured bond and was released, according to court records.
The District Attorney’s office did not immediately return a request for comment.
This is a developing story.
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