An Aiken couple was arrested on July 24 on animal cruelty charges, accused of leaving nearly two dozen cats and dogs in squalor while they moved.
Joseph P. Brewer and Katherine J. Brewer are charged with 14 counts each of animal cruelty. A man who bought their house saw animals living in filth, a police report says.
They were released on $15,000 bond each.
Aiken authorities said the Brewers, who do not have a permanent address, sold their home in the 1100 block of South Boundary Avenue on Friday.
When the new owner went by there on July 22, he found dozens of animals living in filth, according to a report from the Aiken Department of Public Safety.
The conditions were "deplorable," police spokesman Sgt. David Turno said, but the couple "didn't feel like the conditions were as bad as we did."
Officers removed 10 cats and four dogs that Saturday, but Animal Control estimates there might be seven cats still hiding in the house. Traps were set to catch them.
"Some of the animals appeared feral, wild, and would not come to you," Sgt. Turno said.
Adding to the problem, he said, was the amount of debris and clothes in the house.
"Some of the animals were able to hide from officers," he said.
According to the police report, Rusty Findley, of the 100 block of Steeple Ridge Road, bought the house Friday and gave the Brewers five extra days to move out.
On Saturday, he went by to check their progress and heard dogs barking. As he got closer, "he could smell a foul odor coming from the home," the report states, so he called police.
Officers peeked in a window and spotted several animals.
They called Animal Control after several barking dogs met them at the door, and they found "unsanitary conditions" after entering the house.
The back porch, for instance, "was overflowing with old clothes, cat litter, animal feces and other miscellaneous items," the report states.
Sgt. Turno said it doesn't appear the Brewers were planning to abandon the animals, but were instead still in the process of moving.
He said the animals are now at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and are being evaluated by a veterinarian.
Their health will determine whether "they can be adopted, returned or destroyed," he said. Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
Back to Top References« SC State Animal Cruelty Map
|
