Undercover detective's tour leads to alleged puppy mill bust | News

LELAND, NC (WECT) – Search warrants reveal an undercover detective and another person visited one of two sites that were part of an alleged puppy mill a day before police raided it.

The court documents say the Humane Society tipped detectives off to the alleged puppy mill. They set up an undercover appointment to view the animals. A detective and someone else entered the facility with a video camera to document what was happening there.

The warrants said the two could strongly smell urine even before entering the building. The documents talk about conversations between Amelia Millis and the visitors.

Police arrest Amelia Millis and her husband Andrew Millis and charged them with several counts of animal cruelty after police raided two of their properties last week.

The search warrants said Amelia told the undercover detective she wanted to sell her facility in Brunswick County and retire from the business.

She also allegedly told the visitors about how she performed medical procedures on the dogs. She talked about how she would remove the animal's claws and the process she used to burn the incision area.

The documents also said she talked about how she would use rubber bands to remove the tails of some of the animals. Wrapping the bands tightly would caused the tails to die and then fall off.

Warrants also said Millis paid a relative $120 a week to maintain the animals at the facility in Leland. A spokesperson for the Brunswick County Sheriff's Office said they do not have enough evidence to charge the relative.

Copyright 2012 WECT. All rights reserved.