Brandon Wesley Blake (Seminole County Sheriff’s Office)
A 40-year-old professional dog trainer in Florida already awaiting trial on multiple felonies for the alleged “torture” of several dogs in his care was re-arrested after he was allegedly caught trying to sell puppies online, in direct violation of the conditions of his pretrial release.
According to a press release from the State Attorney for Florida’s 18th Judicial Circuit, prosecutors last month successfully argued that bond for Brandon Wesley Blake should be revoked after he tried to sell two puppies to an undercover investigator for $1,000 each. Blake is currently awaiting trial on five counts of felony cruelty to animals — death, pain, or suffering; 12 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty, and seven counts of unlawful confinement of animals.
A detective with Seminole County Sheriff’s Office discovered two posts on Blake’s “K9 Services” Facebook page on Dec. 21 — one for “Belgian Malinois puppies” and another for “Akc german shepherd puppies,” court documents state.
The detective then set up a controlled meeting with Blake on Dec. 22 to view the puppies. At approximately 10 a.m. that morning, the detective met with Blake at an address in Sanford, Florida. Upon arrival, Blake allegedly showed the undercover the puppies and allowed him to take photos. The officer noted that the floors of the kennels were “covered with feces” and that the mother of the Belgian Malinois puppies was “very skinny and possibly malnourished.”
At a hearing on Jan. 19, prosecutors presented evidence of Blake’s attempted sale and Circuit Judge Donna McIntosh ruled that he was in violation of his bond conditions and ordered that he be returned to Seminole County Jail until his trial.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, Blake was initially arrested on Nov. 22 after Seminole County Child Protective Services (CPS) responded to his home regarding a request for a well-being check on a juvenile following a domestic disturbance call.
The CPS informed deputies that she observed “several canines of various breeds and sexes in the home in various states of poor health” while inside of the home,” the document says. Blake’s girlfriend allowed the investigator into the backyard where she allegedly observed “numerous raised kennels that contained several canines in poor health.”
The affidavit says a Seminole County detective later responded to Blake’s home along with personnel from Seminole County Animal Services. Blake’s girlfriend then voluntarily granted authorities access to the residence, the document continues.
Animal Services said they observed many dogs forced into “inhumane living conditions” and that nearly all of the animals were also observed to be in a “malnourished state of health.”
Animal Services personnel said they elected to seize the animals because Blake was prohibited via court order from returning to the residence and his girlfriend said she was moving out and would not be there to provide care for the animals.
A detective on the scene further explained what he observed in the yard.
“During my initial investigation, while assisting animal services, I observed four (4) deceased canines in separate kennels apparently malnourished,” he wrote in the affidavit. “I estimate the canines had been deceased for several days to possibly a week. The majority of the kennels on site was absent food, fresh water, and full of feces. At the time of this writing, I contacted Animal Services by phone who advised they had seized twenty-six (26) canines and the deceased count held at four (4), which I observed.”
The four deceased dogs appeared to have starved to death, investigators said.
“It looked like a puppy mill where he was breeding dogs. (He) cared absolutely nothing about the dogs whatsoever,” Seminole County Emergency Manager Alan Harris reportedly told Orlando CBS affiliate WKMG-TV. “A lot of them came in, and you could actually see the bones on the dog. These dogs still have not been fully processed by the vet. There are a lot of medical records needed, and then we don’t even know how bad they are until we start treating them.”
Blake is scheduled to appear in court again on April 5.
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