Marie Alvarado, a 55-year-old woman from Roggen, was arrested on Tuesday, weeks after crews removed 174 dogs from her property, according to a news release from the Weld County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO).

WCSO’s animal control division opened up an animal cruelty/hoarding investigation into Alvarado on February 14. According to an earlier news release from the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA), the property may have been operating as an unlicensed animal shelter.

Animal control along with crews from the Larimer Humane Society (LHS) and Colorado Humane Society assisted in removing the dogs from the property and transporting them to shelters in April.

Officials also contacted the Weld County Health Department because her home was reportedly “uninhabitable”.

“The Bureau of Animal Protection (BAP), which is also part of CDA, aided in the investigation by reviewing the medical reports for all the dogs along with WCSO animal control officers and deputies determined there was probable cause to arrest the owner of the dogs,” the release said.

Alvarado is now facing 174 counts of animal cruelty. Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact detectives at (970) 356-4015 or Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

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