Editor's Note: The following story contains explicit details about animal abuse, which some readers may find disturbing.
Lauren Botticelli has seen her share of animals in dire straits.
It's part what she signed up for as the head of the Animal Pad, an animal rescue organization in La Mesa. But not even Botticelli was prepared for the scene she encountered during several visits to a backyard breeder in Mexico.
Botticelli knew from a Facebook page that Annette Rosenow bred goldendoodles, a popular mix of golden retriever and poodle. Then Rosenow put a call out on social media saying she needed help. She sent a Google Maps pin to a property in Rosarito, a beach town south of Tijuana.
“No one knew where she was and who she was,” Botticelli said. “When we pulled up we actually saw a hill of doodles. There were many more dogs than she had admitted to essentially."
It got worse from there.
“We saw her throw rocks, throw buckets at the dogs, and we had to bite our tongues in that moment,” Botticelli said.
The rescue
Breeders in Mexico have an impact in San Diego County because many of the dogs end up being sold here.
Botticelli and other rescuers made several visits to Rosenow's property, taking a few dogs each time. Botticelli said Rosenow was only prepared to let go of the dogs she deemed “timid weirdos” and wanted to keep her breeding females and studs.
At one point, Rosenow made serious threats to one of the rescuers. Her threats were recorded on video after Mexican municipal police had put her in handcuffs. KPBS was not able to obtain records from Mexican authorities relating to that incident.
However, Rosenow did acknowledge that she was in custody for three days. During that time, the teams got to work removing the remaining dogs. But, what they found will haunt them.
“No one knew where she was and who she was. When we pulled up we actually saw a hill of doodles. There were many more dogs than she had admitted to essentially."Lauren Botticelli, the Animal Pad
“Annette told me this directly, that they would be fighting over food to the point where they were killing each other,” Botticelli said. “Any mom that was giving birth — the other dogs were eating the puppies. It was a sick situation and very, very sad. They were starved.”
Botticelli shared images and video with KPBS that showed dog skulls on the property and the bodies of several puppies in a freezer.
Some dogs were defecating rocks eaten out of hunger. Boticcelli said many of the dogs had to be sedated to remove the matted fur tearing their skin.
Rosenow initially agreed to an interview with KPBS, but later changed her mind. Instead, she has in recent weeks defended herself through text messages.
She said the puppies in the freezer died of parvovirus, a virulent canine disease. She added that she has no felonies for animal abuse and is being slandered.
Rosenow also said she was detained by Mexican immigration authorities and is now in Germany. KPBS was unable to obtain records relating to her detention.
Report animal abuse
To report suspected animal abuse, call San Diego Humane Law Enforcement at (619) 299-7012 and press 1. You can also fill out an online form here or complete and mail or drop off a hard copy of this PDF.
A history of violations
This isn’t the first time Rosenow has run afoul of the law. And her activities haven’t been limited to Mexico — for years she ran breeding operations in the United States.
In 2017, the state of New Mexico charged Rosenow with 61 violations relating to license and rabies requirements. She pleaded guilty to 11 of the counts — fined and sentenced to 23 days in jail, according to court records. And a magistrate judge ruled she cannot own animals anywhere in the United States, the records show.
In 2018, six of Rosenow’s dogs died in a hot car in Albuquerque after she says they were abandoned by the person she hired to transport them to Texas, court records show. Charges against Rosenow in that case were dismissed.
Cindi Sullivan is director of Torrance County Animal Services in New Mexico, one of many counties Rosenow is known to have run her breeding business.
“I knew before you even said her name who it was,” Sullivan said. She had been been investigating Rosenow while she lived in her jurisdiction.
"I have so many aliases on this woman, so many different places that she's gone,” Sullivan added. “Annette Christine Sticks, Annette Friedrich, Christina Sticks, Holly Smith.”
Sullivan is among many who said the problem with animal control in the United States is that breeders who are shut down in one jurisdiction can just move to another county or another state.
“It's heartbreaking that everybody's hands are tied, and this stuff just continues,” Sullivan said. "We work for weeks and months to try to stop these things from happening, and all it takes is for them is to move into the next district.”
San Diego Humane Society CEO and president, Dr. Gary Weitzman, said breeders will continue to have an easy time evading law enforcement until there is a way to keep track of them on a national level.
“There's no question we need a central database.” Weitzman said. “Right now, it's very casual, and we have to rely on our own colleagues that are in our industry to actually translate what's happening in another region. And that just puts the animals at risk.”
Weitzman said responsible breeders are worth their weight in gold to his organization. “Those are breeds that we want to see continue in the animal world,” he said. “But, not on the backs of suffering from other animals being bred in usually terrible conditions.”
Weitzman added that breeders should allow customers to physically see where the animals are bred, show that all documentation is accounted for and always use payment that can be tracked. He said a transaction to sell a puppy or dog on public property is illegal in the state of California.
A few lucky dogs
In 2020, Emily Hoyt bought one of the goldendoodles that Rosenow had transported across the border to a Chula Vista parking lot.
“She sent me videos of the puppies, so I really felt comfortable. She seemed very genuine,” Hoyt said.
She said Rosenow seemed really caring to her clients, using her Facebook group of 2,700 members to connect puppy parents. Hoyt said she was responsive and followed up about the dog after the sale.
The dog Hoyt bought from Rosenow, who goes by "Bennett," is now happy and healthy, Hoyt said. And soon after hearing about the rescue, she contacted the Animal Pad and has adopted one of the rescued goldendoodle puppies.
“Fast forward to now, finding out all of this information has just been really shocking,” Hoyt said. "I wouldn't have expected it. Looking back, there probably were some red flags that I overlooked, unfortunately.”
For more information on what to look for in a good breeder, you can visit sdhumane.org/breeder.
