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Case ID: 11322

Classification: Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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Breeder neglect - 9 dogs seized, 2 found dead
Snellville, GA (US)

Incident Date: Thursday, Apr 26, 2007
County: Gwinnett

Charges: Misdemeanor, Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 12 files available

Alleged:
» Elliott Steven Reese
» Shawn Reese

Case Updates: 5 update(s) available

Police in Snellville found 9 starving dogs and 2 dead dogs inside a filthy home.

After receiving several complaints, animal control officers and Snellville police went to the home of 43-year-old Elliott Reese. Police and vets say what they found there, is heartbreaking.

Police say they found 9 Doberman pinchers, emaciated and diseased. Some paced in circles and others were too sick to move. A couple of the dogs just wanted attention. Vets say the dogs were neglected and starving to death.

"I was sick to my stomach to see that somebody could not care for animals in that way," said veterinarian Dr. Solveig Evans.

Gwinnett Animal Control officers and Snellville police removed 12 dogs from a Snellville home after observing 9 malnourished Dobermans and 2 dead Dobermans in filthy living conditions. A mixed breed pit bull was in better shape but was also taken from the home. Officers said they were disgusted by what they saw and smelled.

"Some of the officers on the scene had to wear gas masks, it was so powerful," said Sgt. Ray Gunter with the Snellville Police Department.

Snellville police say that Reese is the dog's owner. Now he must turn himself in for felony animal cruelty charges.

"Everybody knew about the dogs. I guess it was a shock that they were dead. But not that they were down there because all of us know they're down there," said neighbor Patsy Fesmira.

Vets say the 9 surviving Dobermans have a tough road ahead and some may not survive.

"I'm not a violent person but it makes me really want to hurt the person that did this," said Dr. Evans.

Reese was not home when officers were there so police are waiting for him to turn himself in.

Police say Reese served time previously for a battery charge and that he has an extensive criminal history.

Case Updates

A man wanted by Snellville police for allegedly mistreating his Doberman pinschers faced an initial court hearing Wednesday.

Elliott Reese, 43, turned himself in Monday evening, Snellville police Chief Roy Whitehead said. Reese faced a first appearance in Gwinnett County Magistrate Court on nine misdemeanor and two felony counts of cruelty to animals.

Police found 11 Doberman pinschers suffering from injury and malnutrition last week at his house on Ashworth Lake Road in Snellville. Two were dead, and nine others were found in a shed behind the house. Police released photos of the dogs, which appeared to be skin-and-bones thin with some open sores. Police think Reese had been running a breeding operation at his home.

"He told us he loved his dogs," Whitehead said. "I'd hate to see what they would have looked like if he hated them."

The surviving dogs were taken to Falcon Village Animal Hospital in Lawrenceville. Police charged his wife, Shawn Reese, 40, with the same cruelty to animal offenses.

Elliott Reese also was wanted for violating probation on a previous battery charge, police said. He will have a preliminary hearing May 9 on the cruelty charges, court staff said.

Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution - May 2, 2007
Update posted on May 2, 2007 - 9:34PM

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Elliott Reese turned himself in to authorities Monday night at the Gwinnet County jail. His wife, Shawn Rochelle Reese, was arrested last week -- they are both charged with 11 counts of animal cruelty.

Shawn is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Thursday, and Elliott is scheduled to make a first appearance in court tomorrow. Two of the 11 counts of animal cruelty are being charged as felonies because of the two dogs that were found dead.

The surviving dogs are all slowly recovering on a high-protein, low carbohydrate diet with a local vet. Their prognosis is good.

Source: MyFox Atlanta - May 1, 2007
Update posted on May 1, 2007 - 10:29PM

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Police are looking for a Snellville man, a Doberman pinscher breeder, who allegedly starved two dogs and poorly treated many others.

Elliott Steven Reese, 43, is accused of two counts of felony aggravated cruelty, and nine counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty.

The Snellville Police Department arrested Reese's wife Shawn Reese, 40, on the same charges.

When police arrived at 2666 Ashworth Lake Road, they found 12 dogs, two of them deceased, including a puppy and a badly decomposed dog inside a garbage bag, said Snellville Police Sgt. Ray Gunter.

The dogs mainly were kept in a utility shed, where one animal was so malnourished his rib cage and hip bones were showing, Gunter said.

And then, there was the awful smell.

"You can smell it in the driveway before you get to the house, the decomposed animals, waste and urine," Gunter said.

The couple had a pit bull that lived inside the house that was not badly treated, police said.

Someone had noted the Reese's alleged poor treatment of the Dobermans, and e-mailed Gwinnett County Animal Control photos of the skinny dogs. Animal control investigated, realized the case involved felony charges, and notified the police, Gunter said.

Reese is also wanted by the Conyers Police Department for probation violation, the arrest warrant said.

Source: Gwinett Daily Post - April 28, 2007
Update posted on Apr 28, 2007 - 1:10PM

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Snellville police are seeking felony animal cruelty charges against a man who they said was breeding Dobermans in his backyard.

Investigators said they found two dead dogs, and nine others starving and caged in their own filth.

The dogs are being checked out by a vet before being brought to the Gwinnett County Animal Shelter. This happened after a long string of complaints by neighbors.

Police pictures document everything -- two dead dogs on the property, nine dogs caged and starving in an outside storage shed. Investigators said the smell was overpowering, and so did neighbors.

"I've been trying to get someone out here since November of '05," said Amy Koon.

Koon said it's been no secret that Elliot Reese has been breeding Doberman Pinschers, and that he's been doing so for the past two years. At first it seemed things were well-run, but lately, neighbors said, it seems that things have been going downhill.

"The dog that we saw Sunday was in such distress that it could not sit down," Koon said. "It just sort of wandered around and yelped. And I threw some dog treats through the fence that I had at my mom's house to get it to eat."

Animal control and police investigated, and with what they found, they will charge Reese with felony animal cruelty.

"It looks like he got too busy with his other job that he's with, and didn't have time to take care of the dogs anymore -- that's what it seems like," said Sgt. Ray Gunter of the Snellville Police Department.

Police are still looking for Reese. When the dogs have been taken to the animal shelter, they will remain there until all of the court proceedings are over.

Source: 11 Alve - April 27, 2007
Update posted on Apr 28, 2007 - 5:14AM

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Police plan to charge Reese with two felony counts and 10 misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals, Gunter said. Reese also is wanted for violating probation on a previous battery charge, according to Sgt. Ray Gunter.

Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution - April 27, 2007
Update posted on Apr 27, 2007 - 3:05PM

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References

MyFoxAtlanta Video - April 28, 2007

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Breeder neglect - 9 dogs seized, 2 found deadSnellville, GA (US)

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Breeder neglect - 9 dogs seized, 2 found dead
Snellville, GA (US)