42 abandoned dogs found in stinking Indy home
Associated Press August 1, 2012 4:48PM
INDIANAPOLIS — Authorities investigating a stench emanating from an Indianapolis home found 42 dogs abandoned inside without food or water, forced to survive by eating the maggot-infested carcasses of seven dead dogs.
Indianapolis Care and Control deputy chief Marcus Brown said Wednesday he has asked a judge to issue an arrest warrant for the dogs’ owner, who authorities say abandoned the dogs and moved to Terre Haute.
Brown told The Indianapolis Star the woman could, if convicted, face up to a year in jail for each of the 42 counts of animal neglect and abandonment.
Court documents say the dogs had fleas, bleeding wounds, eye infections and hair loss. The affidavit says some of the dogs couldn’t walk properly due to poorly developed legs.
It wasn’t immediately clear how long the dogs had been left alone before animal control officers found them June 9.
Officers found feces coating the floor in a layer about three inches deep, according to a probable cause affidavit. Even equipped with gas masks, officers “were still nearly incapacitated by the strong odor and fumes,” the document said.
Two of the dead dogs were puppies.
Brown said all of the surviving dogs have found homes.
The 60-year-old woman told animal control officers the dogs “own themselves” and said she had driven to Indianapolis twice a week to care for them after moving to Terre Haute, according to court documents. She said she didn’t know how many dogs were in the house and had not seen any that were dead.
Brown said the woman had not been arrested as of Wednesday. No phone listing could be found for the woman.
