More than 30 dogs found in and around squalid trailer
Harmony, NC (US)

Incident Date: Tuesday, Feb 28, 2012
County: Iredell

Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Janet Baldwin

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

A complaint about an aggressive dog in a Harmony neighborhood is likely to result in numerous animal cruelty charges.

Iredell County Animal Services Director Chris Royal said an officer went to a home on Whispering Road on Tuesday evening to investigate a report of an aggressive dog running loose in the neighborhood.

The officer went to the door of a singlewide mobile home owned by Janet Baldwin, smelled an overwhelming odor of urine and feces and found 28 dogs inside the house, Royal said.

She said other officers responded to the house, as did the Iredell County Sheriff's Office.

Royal said there were 32 animals on the property -- one cat and 31 dogs. There were four dead dogs found outside -- two in a single cage in a utility building and two others in separate lots outside, she said.

She said officers found a burned area behind the house and found animal carcasses. Royal said the bodies of at least two dogs were found in the burn pit, but they suspect there are probably more.

She said Baldwin surrendered the 31 dogs, most terrier mixes, to the animal services department and they are being assessed for adoption. She said several rescue groups are planning to examine the dogs to see if they can be taken into programs through these groups.

Royal said all will have to undergo examines by veterinarians to determine their overall health.

One, she said, is in particularly bad shape. "Its back legs had been chewed off by some of the other dogs and it scoots around on its behind," she said.

At animal services Thursday, some of the dogs approached the front of the cages, eager for some contact, while others cowered at the back of the kennels.

There was no water or power to the mobile home, and Royal said Baldwin indicated she lived elsewhere but did stay at that house at times.

From the front of the house there was little evidence of what was inside, she said. A wooden privacy fence shielded the view to the back of the house.

She said inside the house they found conditions typical of a hoarding situation. The dogs lived inside the house, except for a few who lived in lots outside.

Capt. Darren Campbell of the sheriff's office said a rescue group called Stayin' Alive Dog and Puppy Rescue is registered to Baldwin, and detectives are looking into the finances of that group.

"We are asking anyone that may have donated to Stayin' Alive Dog and Puppy Rescue to contact us," he said.

He said sheriff's investigators are looking to see if those donations were indeed used to assist the dogs.

Royal said animal cruelty charges are likely pending against Baldwin but it may be next week before the investigation is complete and charges are filed.

Case Updates

References

« NC State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Iredell County, NC

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