Police have arrested a Colorado woman who authorities say owns more than 50 dogs. Police say that some of those dogs allegedly attacked and killed her 76-year-old mother.
Jessica Hoff, 47, will make her first court appearance on Thursday in connection to the February death of her mother, LaVonne Hoff, court records show. According to the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office, LaVonne Hoff had dementia and required 24-hour care.
Jessica Hoff was arrested by police on Friday on a warrant of criminal negligence and aggravated cruelty to animals.
Authorities shared that she left her mother at home alone in Colorado City while she went to run errands on Feb. 3.
Later that day, police discovered LaVonne Hoff unconscious in her home while several dogs were running loose. Deputies also found the home to have about two dozen other dogs and seven birds that were in cages.
Deputies searched the home and another property owned by Jessica Hoff and found a total of 54 dogs, several of them in poor health.
The sheriff’s office said that the dogs and birds were found in unsanitary conditions and were eventually seized by animal control.
Jessica Hoff has not yet been formally charged by prosecutors, though she was being held in jail as of Monday, according to court records.