Twenty-nine dogs seized from their owner by Webster County law enforcement earlier this month will not be returned, District Court Judge Derek Johnson ruled Friday.

The German shepherd dogs were taken following more than two years of reports of neglect from concerned residents to Webster County Animal Protection, Webster County law enforcement, and Humboldt County law enforcement. Since being seized, one dog has died.

The dogs were owned by David K. Collan, 72, of rural Thor. According to Collan, he has bred and raised German shepherds for 23 years.

At a hearing on Monday to determine legal ownership of the dogs, Assistant Webster County Attorney Doug Cook presented four witnesses from Webster County Animal Protection, the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, along with a veterinarian and a compliance investigator from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. They all stated that the dogs were dangerously malnourished, did not have access to food or water, and had been denied important veterinary care.

Collan did not have an attorney and instead chose to represent himself. Johnson had to repeatedly remind Collan not to interrupt or badger witnesses and to stay on topic when questioning.

Dr. Chelsea Hamilton, a field veterinarian for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, testified that she was at Collan’s rural Thor farm when the animals were seized. She examined each dog and provided each one a veterinary body condition score based on fat and muscle reserve, coat, etc. Hamilton noted that a healthy German shepherd would be expected to score ideally between four and five out of nine points. However, a majority of Collan’s dogs scored one or two out of nine.

“One of nine is a very low reserve of muscle,” said Hamilton. “These dogs were all on the thin side.”

Hamilton noted that the dogs also had flystrike that was untreated, that the dogs were undersocialized, and had no food or water at the time of the seizure.

When Collan questioned Hamilton, he repeatedly asked if the dogs’ low body condition score could be caused by untreated parasites. Hamilton noted that “parasite treatment is part of basic veterinary care and that a dog doesn’t become a 1/9 in a short period of time.”

Abigail Martens, a compliance investigator also with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, testified that the wooden shelters and plastic igloos used as shelter by the dogs had “at least one-inch of compacted feces and mud” caked inside.

Collan argued that the feces and mud could have been put there by the large amounts of rain in recent months and noted that inside each of his dogs’ kennels he had placed large amounts of plastic foam “for the dogs to float on in the flooding.” Martens noted that this was also not safe as the dogs would ingest the plastic foam.

Martens also testified that water dishes were empty and the few that did have water were “thick with algae.” She noted that the residence was also “coated in feces and organic matter with dogs living inside of the home.”

When cross-examining Martens, Collan again focused on parasites in the dogs and asked if Martens and Hamilton “were detectives.” He also asked Martens if she believed it was “practical for most people to provide vet care” and stated that he believed vaccines would harm his puppies.

Tina Updegrove with the Animal Rescue League of Iowa testified that the six dogs currently at the ARL are now a healthy weight and are doing well, having been provided with food, water, vet care, and socialization.

“What they needed was food and water,” said Updegrove. “They needed a consistent diet of food and water. Now that they have that, they’re doing well.”

Collan said throughout the hearing that he was unaware that he could call witnesses at the hearing, yet called Manuel Gundez, who stated that he had been to Collan’s farm many times and saw him caring for the dogs. However, when asked by Collan if he believed he “took good care of the 29 dogs,” Gundez said that he believed Collan had too many dogs and was unable to care for them.

“Too many to feed,” he said. “Too many to take care of. He cannot take care of his dogs.”

Collan later called himself to testify and stated that he always fed and watered his dogs. He admitted to knowing that the dogs had parasites, but left them untreated due to the cost of medicine and not trusting veterinarians.

Collan said that he “spent his life savings on dog food” and would only feed his dogs Diamond brand dog food, which he said is considered “top of the line.” He stated that he could no longer afford to purchase this brand of food, but when he was given large amounts of dog food from rescues and shelters, he believed it to be “crap food, which is why I didn’t feed it to my dogs.” A pallet of wet dog food donated by a rescue was found on Collan’s property still shrink wrapped and unopened, which was noted by all four witnesses called by Webster County.

Following Collan’s own testimony, he asked the judge to allow him to keep one dog. But when asked what dog that would be, Collan named six dogs that he would like back from the county. In his written decision, Johnson ordered all dogs to the custody of Webster County.

Since being removed from Collan’s care and placed with Webster County Animal Protection, Pups and Paws Pound, and the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, one dog has died from an untreated infection and another dog found to have an untreated neurological issue. All dogs have been seen and treated by veterinarians.

According to Kaila Benson, owner of Webster County Animal Protection, 23 dogs have been in the care of Pups and Paws Pound and Moffitt Animal Shelter following the Aug. 7 seizure. Six dogs have been in the care of the Animal Rescue League of Iowa in Des Moines.

In addition to losing ownership of the dogs, Collan has also been ordered to pay restitution of $21,378.44 for the cost of emergency veterinary care and boarding.

Collan is also scheduled for a Sept. 19 hearing on criminal charges of animal neglect.