(ABC 6 News) – Search warrants publicly filed Monday, Feb. 26, detail the seizure of 15 dogs from a LeRoy breeder following a poisoning investigation.

RELATED: Several dogs seized from a property in Fillmore County – ABC 6 News – kaaltv.com

Donald Norval Anderson, 89, requested a hearing to determine whether the Fillmore County seizure of 15 of his German Shepherds from Anderson Farm was justified on Thursday, Feb. 22.

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 27.

Poisoning allegations and GDV

According to search warrants, the Fillmore County Sheriff’s Office went to the 13000 block of 111th Avenue, LeRoy, in early February after Anderson and a woman associated with the dog-breeding business but not named in Anderson’s suit told deputies they believed two of their German Shepherd dogs had been poisoned by a neighbor, since they had died suddenly.

On Feb. 9, the FCSO recommended that the pair give the body of the second dog to the University of Minnesota’s veterinary laboratory for testing.

On Feb. 13, a FCSO sergeant spoke with a veterinary expert, who listed “concerning findings discovered in the necropsy of the deceased dog.”

The two-year, 9-month German shepherd was “moderately to markedly underweight,” the expert said, weighed about 45 pounds, and her small intestine was “twisted approximately 260 degree(s) around the cranial mesenteric root.”

According to the American Kennel Club, adult female German Shepherds should be between 50 and 70 pounds.

The dog’s entire small intestine was bloated with gas, and she was dehydrated as well, according to the search warrants.

The cause of death was cardiovascular insufficiency/failure associated with intestinal volvulus, according to the search warrants.

Gastric dilation and volvulus (GDV) is a life-threatening condition in dogs, in which digestive system traps air and eventually twists around on itself, pressing against parts of the circulatory system and causing failure.

According to VCA Animal Hospital, risk factors for GDV include eating one meal a day, rapid eating, and being thin or underweight.

The University of Minnesota veterinary expert who said he believed the dog was “in a poor nutritional state” expressed concern about other dogs owned by the same breeders.

The doctor also filed a formal welfare concern complaint, according to the search warrants.

Investigating the Anderson farm

According to search warrants, the FCSO sergeant visited the farm on Feb. 13, met with the owners, and handled an adult male German Shepherd whose spine and ribs were palpable through thick hair.

The woman associated with the business told the sergeant she gave each dog 6 cups of food per day, plus supplemental meat she cooked for them.

According to the search warrants, however, a Cresco veterinarian visited the farm and examined two adult male dogs,

He reported that their body condition was a “2 out of 9,” indicating that the dogs were underweight.

“It did not seem that they understood or accepted the evaluation scores,” the veterinarian noted after speaking to the dog breeders.

The sergeant also alleged that the kennels in the barn were in poor condition, with “bloody and soiled cardboard on the floor” and 2-3 dogs per 8X6 space.

“The dogs in the kennel also had feces soiling their coats,” search warrants read.

On February 16, the same veterinarian examined a recent litter of 8 puppies and found that all of them were similarly underweight and had soiled coats, according to the search warrants.

The FCSO contacted the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley and conducted the seizure reported last week.