A young dog was one of five malnourished beagles brought to the Washington County/Johnson City Animal Shelter from a home on Robert Smith Road where three other dogs were found dead on Nov 5th.
"We got a call about an old trailer at the end of the road," said Debbie Dobbs, director of the animal shelter. "The caller said no one had been there for about a month, and the dogs were behind a barn there."
When animal control officers arrived at 112 Robert Smith Road, they found three dogs - two beagles and a pit bull - already dead, as well as five beagle mixes that authorities said were "very malnourished and severely dehydrated."
"The conditions there were deplorable. The water bowls were full of slime, leaves and green algae. The only things in the food pans were leaves," Dobbs said. "A couple of the dogs were actually chained to their dog houses and could not leave the premises of that house."
Animal control officers believe the three deceased dogs died from starvation, while the five dogs lucky enough to make it out alive are now recovering from several ailments including malnutrition, parasites and neglect.
"We took the two worse-off ones to the vet (Monday), and one has a high fever," Dobbs said. "The vet is keeping that one there for a little while for observation."
As of Nov 6, shelter officials remained unsure as to how long the dogs had been forced to live in the poor conditions.
"It can take several weeks to a month to starve a dog to death," Dobbs said. "They deteriorate down to where they have no more muscle mass. Then all you have left is skin and bones."
No one was home when officers removed the dogs from the residence, and charges have yet to be placed in the case.
"We don't know who owns the property or who owns the dogs at this point," said Dobbs, who added that the investigation is continuing.
Anyone with additional information about the animal cruelty is asked to call the animal shelter at 926-8769. Case UpdatesTuesday was a good day for one mama dog and her puppies. Their temporary home at the Washington County/Johnson City Animal Shelter is a big step up from where they were found earlier this week.
The dog, along with her seven pups, was spotted Monday afternoon on the side of Interstate 26 near the Washington County/Unicoi County line. Truck drivers who were hauling rock from a nearby quarry pulled over to help the dog when they noticed her mouth was duct-taped shut.
"The tape was wrapped around her two or three times, and it looked like she'd had it on there for a few days. There were marks on it where she had been trying to get it off with her paws," said Jamie Hurd, one of the men who helped save the dog. "We couldn't get her to come to us at first. Then one of my buddies started petting her, and another one held her while we took the tape off."
Once the tape was removed, the dog's personality immediately changed.
"She was real excited," Hurd said of the dog, which appears to be some kind of shar-pei/boxer mix. "She was wagging her tail. I guess she was happy just to have that tape off her mouth."
Moments later, the men noticed the mama dog had some company on the side of the highway.
"In the tall grass she had made a nest where her puppies were all laying," said Debbie Dobbs, director of the animal shelter. "She had made a safe area for the puppies so they wouldn't come toward the road."
Hurd and his friends notified someone at the quarry and asked them to contact authorities.
After giving the dog some crackers, they returned to their trucks, leaving with a couple of extra passengers.
"We had to leave before anyone else got there because we were blocking all the traffic," Hurd said. "We didn't really know at the time if anyone was going to come save them, so we figured we'd take one or two of the puppies and try to at least save them."
Johnson City police officers arrived a short time later and took the dog and remaining puppies to the animal shelter after giving them some food and water.
"The mom seemed to be very happy, friendly and playful. She was just glad to see people who could help her," Dobbs said. "We don't know how long she and the puppies were out there - I'd guess a day or two, because if it had been any longer, she would be in worse shape from not being able to have any water."
The puppies appear to be about four weeks old, and their mom is somewhere between 18 months to two years old, Dobbs said.
While the mama dog and her pups are recovering nicely from their traumatic experience, shelter workers are still reeling from the obvious case of animal cruelty.
"There's no sense in doing this when you can just bring them to a shelter," Dobbs said. "Duct-taping the dog's mouth shut is just below the human level."
Dobbs believes the duct tape was used either to stop the dog from barking, or possibly as an attempt to starve her to death.
"The terrible thought that it was to kill her, that thought makes me ill," Dobbs said. "There's no telling how long she would've lived out there like that."
After the puppies are weaned, Dobbs said the shelter will put them up for adoption. Anyone interested in adopting one of the puppies or the mama dog is asked to contact the animal shelter at 926-8769. | Source: Times-News - Nov 7, 2006
Update posted on Nov 7, 2006 - 1:40PM |
Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
Back to Top References« TN State Animal Cruelty Map
|
