Farmington woman who fostered pets charged with animal cruelty

Dakota County prosecutors have charged a woman with 13 counts of animal cruelty, including one felony count, after investigators allegedly found more than a dozen dead cats in her Farmington home in May.

Authorities say Caycee Lynn Bregel, 25, set up a nonprofit last year and received animals as a foster partner with the Animal Humane Society.

According to the criminal complaint, sheriff's deputies were called to her home several times this spring because of concerns about animals she had there, including a pig that had escaped the property at least three times.

In May, officers obtained a search warrant for Bregel's home, where they and Animal Humane Society Agent Keith Streff allegedly found 43 cats and five dogs roaming around inside. Many were emaciated, and the floors, walls, and windows were covered in urine and excrement.

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Prosecutors say deputies also found 64 dead cats. Some were scattered around the backyard, while others were buried in shallow graves, and some were stuffed in refrigerators and freezers.

Investigators say they searched Bregel's rescue business the next day and found more neglected cats and dogs.

She faces 12 misdemeanor charges of animal mistreatment. The felony charge is related to a cat that had to be euthanized after it suffered multiple parasite infections and its left eye had popped out of its socket.

Bregel is scheduled to make her first appearance in court Oct. 1.

The Dakota County Public Health Department issued a condemnation order for the home.