La Grande man arrested on 20 animal neglect, abandonment counts

A La Grande man faces 20 animal-related charges after deputies investigated a Fox Hill puppy complaint and traced the case back to Joshua Hadden, born April 21, 1982. The Union County Sheriff’s Office said Hadden was charged with 10 counts of animal abandonment and 10 counts of second-degree animal neglect.

The case began at the start of May when a local resident found a single puppy wandering in the Fox Hill area. Around the same time, another person posted on Facebook that they had found nine more puppies at Fox Hill. Deputies said the reports pointed to a wider abandonment case involving dogs that were about the same age and had similar coloring to the puppies shown in the photos.

Investigators interviewed multiple people during the inquiry. According to the sheriff’s office, more than one person identified Hadden as having puppies matching the descriptions in the photos, and a witness identified Hadden’s vehicle leaving the area where the puppies were found. A deputy later went to Hadden’s house, spoke with him and arrested him.

Hadden was released on conditional release pending his court hearing. The sheriff’s office said all of the puppies have since been adopted and are now with new owners, closing the immediate welfare crisis even as the case moves through the courts.

The arrest puts a spotlight on how Union County handles animal neglect complaints. The sheriff’s office says its Animal Enforcement unit responds to emergency situations and complaints, and the agency says it has 16 deputy positions, including animal enforcement personnel. In a county where neighbors often are the first to notice abandoned animals or unsafe conditions, the path from a public complaint to a criminal case can move quickly when deputies have enough identifying information to follow up.

Under Oregon law, second-degree animal neglect is a Class B misdemeanor, but it can rise to a Class C felony in certain circumstances, including when the offense is part of a criminal episode involving 11 or more animals. The allegations in this case, involving 10 counts of abandonment and 10 counts of neglect, raise questions not just about one defendant’s conduct but about the larger burden placed on local authorities and rescues when animals are left behind.

Union County itself was officially established on October 14, 1864, and the sheriff’s office says its animal enforcement work remains part of its broader public-safety mission. In this case, that mission ended with a search, an arrest and a set of puppies safely placed in new homes.