GRASS VALLEY, Calif. — A woman has been found guilty as a result of a two-year investigation by law enforcement into an animal cruelty case.
Linda Vaccarezza, owner and operator of Pitty-Pop Pitbull Rescue in Grass Valley, was found guilty of misdemeanor animal cruelty and operating a kennel without a permit after a three-day trial in Nevada County Superior Court, according to a Facebook post by the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office.
Animal control officers rescued 35 dogs total during their two-year animal neglect investigation, the release said.
Deputies said the investigation gained momentum in March 2023 after the sheriff’s office received a tip endangered animals inhabited a barn on the rescue’s property. Officers responded and a barn search resulted in 11 chickens and six dogs being seized, the release said.
The six dogs are included in the later 35 total dogs reported.
Deputies said they tried to inspect the main home on the property on the same day as the barn search to check on additional animals, but the search was denied by a man on the property.
The sheriff’s office said it subsequently obtained a search warrant, which was executed in April 2023, and additional dogs were seized.
“One of the animals we rescued was a little gray, male puppy that we found in a cage,” said Stefanie Geckler, a Nevada County Sheriff’s Office animal control officer supervisor. “Upon initial assessment of the puppy, we saw several open sores on the puppy's tail head and hind end that appeared to be infected. He appeared lethargic, emaciated and unable to walk. The puppy's red blanket in the cage was soaking wet, saturated with what appeared to be urine.”
Several rescued animals appeared ill, malnourished, injured and many were living in unsanitary conditions, deputies said. All rescued animals were taken to a local veterinarian for assessment and treatment.
Evidence collected by the sheriff’s office was turned over to the Nevada County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution, law enforcement said.
Vaccarezza will be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. March 18.
