Man gives tour of home after Animal Control seizes 51 dogs

One day after 51 of his dogs were taken from him by animal control, John Aikman was cuffed and taken away by IMPD.

 "Every time I do what they tell me to do I end up in handcuffs," said John Aikman. "I am not a criminal, I am not going to kill myself, I am not a danger to anyone else. All I want to do is be left alone until I can go to court and tell the judge what they did. "

Aikman said he called the Mayor's Action Hotline because he felt threatened after his dogs were taken Wednesday. He said the front and back doors of his house have already been kicked in.

"I wanted to let law enforcement know that if something happens to me, I live alone and if they find me dead or something like that I wanted them to know where they could start looking," said Aikman.

Before he was taken into custody, Aikman allowed Fox59 to take a look around his property, where 51 dogs of different breeds and ages were living.

"The puppies are healthy, there was no reason to take the puppies," said Aikman.

Animal Control saw a different kind of living environment. Indianapolis Animal Care and Control said there was no way so many dogs should have been living the house along Dawson Street.

"There was a strong odor of urine and feces in the residence itself," said Marcus Brown of I.A.C.C. "When you opened the door, you could smell it from out on the sidewalk actually."

Of the 51 dogs taken by animal control, 49 have found foster homes. Two have been quarantined, one because of illness, the other due to injury.

Aikman said he breeds the dogs for family and friends. He said that is what he will tell a judge when he goes to court.

Brown said Aikman had other motives, though.

"There were several different stories given to several different people," said Brown. "I was also given the same story, but I was also told that he was selling animals, just because it was a hobby of his."

Aikman maintained the reason why he has so many dogs was because he loves animals. He said it is not about the money.

"I can't do nothing about it, everybody cannot be happy," said Aikman.

Members of IMPD said Aikman will undergo a mental evaluation at Wishard Hospital. He will be released, based on the findings of that evaluation.