11 dogs found shot to death, 22 found alive
Stover, MO (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Oct 20, 2010
County: Morgan

Disposition: Alleged

Abuser names unreleased

An animal abuse case in Morgan County, Mo., led to eleven dogs being found shot and killed and 22 other dogs being confiscated.

Morgan County authorities said an investigation into a couple that lives at a rural Morgan County property has been several months in the making, but Wednesday morning everything came to a head, when investigators served a search warrant and said what they found was "heartbreaking."

"Any time you deal with something like this, it's a sad feeling," Morgan County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Mike Nienhuis said. "Some people wouldn't have a problem with it, but I do have a problem with it."

Nienhuis said he knew time was not on the side of the Morgan County Sheriff's Department in their investigation. He said they had been working with the Missouri Department of Agriculture and the humane society after someone called in a tip about sick and injured dogs being kept at a home in rural Morgan County.

"We had photographs of three dogs with injuries, that's why we applied for the warrant, to get those dogs, to make sure they have been taken care of," Neinhuis said.

Nienhuis said when they got to the property with the warrant, the dogs were gone. The three dogs, along with eight others, had been shot and buried. Now investigators are trying to figure out why.

"We want to find out how they died," Nienhuis said. "If they were sick or injured or got shot because the couple didn't want to get caught with too many dogs."

A total of 22 dogs, 19 of which were living in the couple's home, were also taken into custody. Some appeared sick and malnourished, Nienhuis said. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is now caring for them.

"I think these people are just people who take dogs in and it got too much for them and they didn't know how to get help. Shooting is not the solution. Not in my eyes," Nienhuis said.

The couple had been released pending formal charges, which are expected to come Friday morning.

References

• - Oct 21, 2010

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