Animals neglected
Bayou George, FL (US)

Incident Date: Thursday, Jul 10, 2008
County: Bay

Disposition: Not Charged

Person of Interest: Linda Lewis

Bay County Animal Control raided a Bayou George property Thursday afternoon, after reports of animal neglect. Among those complaining were county code enforcement officers who were on the property investigating possible code violations.

They say they contacted Animal Control when they noticed the animals did not have water.

The animals are still on the property, but one wrong move and Animal Control will remove them.

Property Owner Linda Lewis has owned many of the animals for a number of years. In fact, until Thursday, she also worked as an Animal Control officer for Cedar Grove.

Now, she risks losing all eight horses, 10 dogs, and a handful of goats that live on her land.

"People have called them and said I don't have hay and I don't have feed and water. I always have feed and water. I've always taken care of them. I don't think they would have lived to have been 40 years old and 33 years old and 28 and 29 if I hadn't," said Lewis.

Bay County Animal Control officials say that's not what they found when they inspected Thursday morning.

"We found the animals did not have access to water at all that we could determine. We checked the property. There were a lot of hazards, broken glass, broken wire, fiberglass that the horses had been chewing on and eating bits of wood, which are dangerous to them so we stepped in," said Bay County Animal Control Director Jim Crosby.

Lewis is being ordered to move the animals to the back of the property until the area is cleaned up.

Animal Control will also be checking on the animals several times a day to make sure they have food and water. But for now, no further action is being taken.

"At this point, since she's working with us, we do not intend at this time to press any charges or assess any fines. It's just a matter of ensuring the well-being of the animals," said Crosby.

It�s a well-being, which Lewis says they've had all along. "They have food. They have water. They're healthy. They're fat," she said.

Bay County Code Enforcement also notified Lewis and her daughter Stacey Hopkins. They have an August 7th public hearing regarding violations on their property.

References

• « FL State Animal Cruelty Map

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