Nye County pair kept dogs in freezer, sheriff’s office says

Two Nye County residents arrested last week on animal cruelty charges kept dozens of dogs stored in a freezer, according to the Nye County Sheriff’s Office.

The grizzly discovery by the sheriff’s office occurred over the weekend, according to Nye Sheriff’s Capt. David Boruchowitz. He said the dogs were a range of ages but declined to release additional details.

Last week Oskana Higgins and Vasili Platunov were arrested on suspicion of felony animal abuse and around 300 dogs were seized between two properties, one in Pahrump and one in Amargosa Valley.

Higgins and Platunov have both since bailed out of jail, Boruchowitz stated. Both appeared Monday in Nye County Court.

Following Monday’s court hearing the sheriff’s office was allowed to move the rescued dogs to a shelter, Boruchowitz said.

“We are now moving them to the shelter,” Boruchowitz said in an email.

The sheriff’s office on Saturday thanked Amargosa Valley nonprofit A Path 4 Paws for their assistance in providing supplies for the neglected animals.

“This is a cumbersome task but with the partnerships from the community and around the country we are confident in our success,” the sheriff’s office’s Facebook post read.

The sheriff’s office started a GoFundMe online fundraiser to go toward caring for the seized dogs at the county’s animal shelter.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.