A woman was charged with animal cruelty after several neglected dogs were found in an unsanitary Federal Way trailer last month.
Joshilynn Wolff, 27, of Renton, was tried in the King County Superior Court on October 7th on three first-degree animal cruelty cases and one second-degree animal cruelty case.
Her indictment is scheduled for October 21 at 9:00 a.m. at the Maleng Regional Justice Center.
At around 4:40 p.m. on September 17, the Federal Road Police and an animal welfare officer reported in Block 1100 of S. 306th Street after reports of a dispute between three German Shepherds, according to indictment documents. The 911 operators said the large dogs were unleashed and looked malnourished.
When they were able to catch the dogs, the first dog – an 8 year old female named Luka – was “so thin” [the officer] could feel every bone in and on the dog’s body, ”and the dog cried in pain as it was lifted into the animal inspection vehicle, the documents say. The second dog – a 5-year-old male named Phoenix – was also extremely thin and had feces on his fur coat, the documents say.
Witnesses said that a man who was later determined to be Wolff’s friend chased the dogs on the street. The first dog, Luka, was seen drinking from one puddle until it was empty and then continuing to drink from another puddle nearby.
Another witness offered a second dog a water bowl, which he refilled three times. Both cases suggest that the dogs “have been deprived of water for an inappropriately long period of time,” the documents say.
Both dogs were transported to the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County, where veterinarians said they were in poor health due to neglect and malnutrition, according to the indictment documents.
The next day, Phoenix had a seizure and was minimally responsive due to the neglect and starvation of the owners, a Tacoma Humane Society veterinarian told police.
Officials identified Wolff as the owner of the dogs, who lived in a small trailer along 11th Avenue South, and attempted to examine the third dog, but Wolff reportedly refused.
A woman who frequently walks near the trailer told police that she had heard dogs crying or pawing inside the trailer since June, along with a “foul smell” of urine and feces from the trailer.
The police issued a search warrant for the trailer on September 22nd and found three other dogs in Wolff’s care, two of which were in “poor health,” the documents say.
A puppy and a 2-year-old female, both German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois mix, were rescued from the trailer. The puppy, named Cinder, had deformed paws, likely due to being locked in a small box, the documents say. She was significantly underweight with muscle wasting and tooth enamel erosion. The 2-year-old bitch Athena was underweight and had, among other things, a slight fever.
A 1-year-old French bulldog named Calypso was the healthiest of the five dogs with a yeast infection in both ears and a mild tooth infection.
All five dogs were malnourished, dehydrated and acted anxiously when they arrived at the shelter, the Spiegel previously reported.
Police found “inadequate living conditions for dogs” in the trailer, including strong smells of feces, litter with feces and urine collected in a dog crate.
Wolff also has pending second-degree animal cruelty charges for nine emaciated dogs that were removed from their friend’s vehicle in February 2020. She was also previously screened for cruelty to animals for abandoning at least 10 puppies in 2015. That same year, Federal Way police investigated Wolff for allegedly leaving a Rottweiler and their two pups in a truck in the pouring rain, indictment documents indicate.
To donate to the Humane Society and support the recovery of the rescued dogs, visit the shelter’s website at www.thehumanesociety.org/five-neglected-dogs/.