On Aug. 10, Martin County deputies removed 36 border collies from a Palm City home so filled with waste that the county condemned it days later. The dogs' owner, Paige O'Donnell, now faces 72 criminal charges: one count of animal cruelty and one count of improper confinement for each dog. She has pleaded not guilty, and her next court date is Dec. 1.

This was no backyard operation. Colleen Tilley, who adopted one of the rescued dogs, remembers O'Donnell as a celebrated show breeder. "(Paige) won everything," Tilley told WPTV. If a breeder with that kind of reputation can end up facing charges like these, it raises a hard question: who was checking on the dogs between shows?

Thanks to the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast, 30 of the dogs have been adopted and five have gone or are headed to rescue groups. Adopters say the dogs are full of energy and settling in, though one spent her first few days in a new home hiding under the bed whenever the front door opened.

Two changes can help stop this from happening again. The State Attorney's Office for Florida's 19th Judicial Circuit, which prosecutes cases in Martin County, should pursue this case fully and, if there is a conviction, ask the court to bar the defendant from owning or breeding animals. And the Florida Legislature should require regular welfare inspections for breeders who keep large numbers of dogs, so problems are caught long before deputies have to step in.

Sign the petition to stand up for these 36 border collies before the Dec. 1 hearing, and to protect the next dogs before it's too late.