sugarfree irony
Trusted Member
The Sequatchie County Sheriff's Department served a warrant and discovered many medium and large, mixed-breed dogs living in cages inside the home on Austin Road, and some living in cages outside the home.
"It is one of the worst that we have ever seen, that I have ever seen as animal cruelty," said Chief Deputy Randall Lockhart, "I mean the dogs are just, I mean, it's very bad.
Geoffrey Peterson, 54, is now in Sequatchie County jail and charged with animal neglect.
The Chief Deputy said the animal cruelty investigation started months ago when a concerned person called the humane society saying Peterson brought in a dog to be treated for starvation. The dog was treated and released back to Peterson. A few months later, Peterson brought in the same dog and the animal was once again suffering from starvation.
Initial veterinary findings on the condition of the animals includes urine scalding, emaciation, dehydration, anemia, and feces-crusted feet and coats.
Authorities also found several deceased dogs in a freezer on the property.
"It's definitely inhumane conditions there. You're not able to breathe inside the house," said Leighann Lassiter, Tennessee State Director of the Humane Society of the United States.
Many of the animals were living in cages and covered in their own waste.
"There's a lot of hair loss. Presumably from living in their own urine and feces," Lassiter said, "There are some animal that have some various wounds."
The animals are being gathered and crated for transport to McKamey Animal Center and the Humane Educations Society in Chattanooga, where they will be evaluated, examined and treated by veterinary staff.
Channel 3 spoke with a neighbor who lives across the street. She suspected Peterson didn't live at his home on Austin Road, but she had no idea he was sheltering so many animals. She said whenever the two would talk, Peterson told her he was a member of PETA, a vegan and loved animals.
http://www.wsmv.com/story/27670642/animal-cruelty-case-being-investigated-in-sequatchie-county
I feel bad if I'm late getting my cats ( only 3 of them ) to the vet for their yearly check up . I can't fathom this mindset animal hoarders seem to have . They say they " love " these animals yet let them suffer so much . This is not too far away from me and while we do not have large shelters here the local vet has always worked hard to adopt out any safe pets for free .