Rescue raided - 93 animals seized, 2 euthanized
Falmouth, KY (US)Incident Date: Friday, Apr 8, 2011
County: Pendleton
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Carletta Chaney
A local woman heads to court on 93 counts of animal cruelty. Animal welfare resources in Boone, Kenton, Campbell and Pendleton County are all stretched to the max today because of this case.
On Friday, officers removed 85 dogs and eight cats from a single location in Falmouth. Some of the animals had to be put down. But Rich Jaffe reports many others will be available for adoption over the next few days.
A Pendleton County woman is facing 93 counts of animal cruelty after authorities say the conditions in her shelter became so bad that agencies from across Northern Kentucky had to help raid the place. With no animals left at the shelter, Carletta Chaney was trying to clean up the place. Chaney calls her no-kill shelter the Humane Society of Pendleton County. But authorities say the conditions inside were anything but humane.
When they raided the shelter Friday, investigators say crates with animals in them were stacked on top of each other, feces was everywhere and ammonia levels were so high, they couldn't safely work inside the building. Chaney watched as 93 animals were removed.
Carletta Chaney, Shelter Owner: "And it's the powerlessness ... you've done nothing wrong, haven't been warned, haven't been told of the complaint, haven't been given time to do anything and I'm supposed to protect those animals and I couldn't."
32 of the dogs went to the Kenton County Animal Shelter. Volunteers and staff are still trying to get them cleaned up enough so they can be adopted. Two had to be euthanized because they had mange. The additional dogs mean a facility already beyond full capacity is stressed even further.
Dan Evans, Kenton County Animal Shelter: "The animals can see the stress on us, we're trying to process everybody, vaccinate everybody, bathe them multiple times and get them ready for adoption... days are going to be very long, people are going to be very stressed and I think the animals can feed off of that ... they've been through so much stress we want to stop that."
Investigators say they don't think Carletta Chaney is an animal hoarder, just someone who got in way, way over her head.
"I was a special ed director before I did this and I believe there's a quality of life for everybody in spite of their differences ... Were you giving them that quality of life? Yeah, more than they'd ever had before."
Investigators tell us when they first went in to Chaney's shelter, they were acting on a signed complaint from someone who had recently been there. They also tell us, they initially thought there were only seven or eight dogs inside.
Carletta Chaney is due in court to answer to the charges, April 26th.
If you're interested in the dogs in Kenton County, call the animal shelter at 859-356-7400. References |
