Neighbors say they spent years raising concerns about aggressive dogs kept at a man’s home, but the situation was not resolved until a lawsuit led to a court order.
PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — Residents near a Melrose property say they are relieved after Putnam County deputies arrested a man accused of keeping more than 30 dogs in his backyard, where neighbors said the animals were left to attack and kill one another.
Mark Plosila, 67, faces one felony animal cruelty charge and one misdemeanor animal cruelty charge, according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, which said additional charges are expected.
Neighbors told First Coast News they had been filing complaints for years before Sept. 3, when Putnam County Animal Control and the sheriff’s office seized dozens of dogs from the Swan Lake Drive property in Melrose.
Officials said 15 of the dogs were euthanized because their aggressive behavior made them unsafe.
“There were some in the pack that were so aggressive that the owner could not even safely handle them,” said Julianne Young, deputy county administrator with Putnam County Animal Control. Young said the dogs were being fed “trough style,” allowing dominant animals to take most of the food while smaller dogs were left with very little.
Authorities said roughly 36 dogs were living in the property’s overgrown backyard.
First Coast News obtained videos from Putnam County Animal Control that show dogs attacking one another.
Linda Wagner, who lives nearby, called the situation “just horrific.”
She said she remembers watching Plosila move in in the mid-2010s. At first she didn’t notice anything wrong, then slowly over time, she heard more barking. Then later, she said she noticed the number of dogs grow. Before there was a fence, she said the dogs were chained up to cars in the yard and would sometimes escape and chase the neighbors.
Over a span of four years, the neighbors tried to get authorities to take action, but the neighbors said they saw nothing change.
Plosila eventually fenced in the dogs, but the barking and smells from the yard still created concerns for the neighbors.
Wagner eventually took matters into her own hands and filed a nuisance lawsuit last November.
“These dogs became aggressive, and you could see it,” Wagner said. “And, just in the last year, there were four instances where one or all of the neighbors were able to video attacks by these dogs on one of their own in that yard.”
Animal Control said they can only act as the county ordinances currently in place allow. While they received complaints, they could not act until they had direct proof the owner was involved in mistreating them.
That’s what Julianne Young with Animal Control said officers ended up seeing for themselves when visiting the property in August — dogs attacking other dogs.
“And the owner did not ever make any attempt to step in and alleviate the abuse and the harm that was coming to that animal, and that ultimately is what finally gave both of our agencies that power to go through the court system.”
Animal Control and the Sheriff’s Office joined the civil suit, and a judge granted an order for the dogs to be seized.
“Our biggest concern was getting those dogs out as safe as we could,” said Davis Ussery with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
The owner is currently out on bond, but has been ordered not to keep any animals.
Wagner told First Coast News she plans to speak to county leaders in support of ordinance changes that could make addressing animal concerns easier in the future.
“Animal control needs the authority to not only give these citations to people, but enforce them. Something needs to happen where it’s easier for them to act, and law enforcement as well,” Wagner said.
