14 dogs kept in crates, severely neglected Athens, GA (US) Incident Date: Wednesday, Aug 24, 2005 County: Clarke Local Map: available Disposition: Alleged Case Images: 2 files available Abuser names unreleased

Case ID: 5468 Classification: Neglect / Abandonment Animal: dog (non pit-bull) View more cases in GA (US) Login to Watch this Case

In the home of a man who admitted he never let his 14 dogs out of the house to urinate, the floors were so saturated by urine that the woman living in the apartment below had to use buckets to catch the noxious fluids leaking through her ceiling. Conditions grew so bad that a portion of her bedroom ceiling collapsed last month, and she called Athens-Clarke Animal Control to investigate.

Animal control officers discovered 14 dogs living in crates in the apartment on Sycamore Drive. The dogs' owner, who admitted he never took the dogs outside to relieve themselves, was cited for animal neglect.

The officers told him they would return in a couple of weeks to see whether the dogs' living conditions had improved, and if they'd been vaccinated against rabies, but they also gave him the option to surrender the dogs to animal control if he couldn't take care of them.

He opted to keep the dogs, and when officers returned, most of the dogs were gone. The five remaining were all in poor health - still living in crates, urinating on the floor and not vaccinated. This time, the dogs were impounded.

The owner later reclaimed four of the dogs, paid nearly $1,200 in fines and moved them to Oglethorpe County. As a condition of regaining the dogs, he agreed to allow animal control officers to check on them in Oglethorpe.

When officers checked on the afternoon of Aug 24, they impounded the dogs again, since the animals continued to live in inhumane conditions.

The emaciated dogs were lethargic and could barely walk. One dog, covered with sores and its hip bone pushing through its skin, suffered from two types of mange, an officer said, and the only hair left on the animal was on its head.

The owner was ordered to appear in Athens-Clarke Magistrate Court next month to face state animal cruelty charges.

Athens-Clarke County Animal Control Superintendent Patrick Rives said he can't comment on cruelty and neglect cases pending in court, but one officer said it was the worst case of animal neglect he'd ever seen.

Under county animal control ordinances, citations for animal neglect or cruelty can include fines ranging from $50 to $1,000. The state Animal Protection Act of 2000 not only allows fines of up to $15,000, but also can carry penalties of up to five years in prison.

Neighborhood Map

For more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.

Back to Top

Add this case to:

Del.icio.us

|

Digg

|

Furl

|

References

Augusta Chronicle - Aug 27, 2005

« GA State Animal Cruelty Map

Not sure what these icons mean? Click here.

Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.

For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.