Dale County Sheriff’s investigators and Ozark Animal Control authorities have made what Dale County Sheriff’s Chief Investigator Harvey Mathis calls the largest seizure in at least four years of malnourished animals, which were found at a residence on Dale County Road 122 on Thursday.
Around 20 malnourished dogs were found, their bones were visible under their skin as they ran from authorities throughout the wooded property.
Two dog feeders were found, but both were empty and their bags of food appeared empty too and the little water that remained was dirty and full of leaves.
Dale County Sheriff’s Investigator Joe Weaver said the dogs taken to Animal Control included puppies and some of them were too weak to walk. Weaver said “It’s one thing to have been barely fed, but some of them seemed to have been starving.”
Authorities are still trying to determine who owned the animals, and the owner is expected to face a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge for each malnourished pet found. Mathis said that the animals were taken to Animal Control and they likely would not be available for adoption until the conclusion of the investigation.
“It’s not about whether it’s a human or a pet,” Mathis said. “It’s about the fact that if you can’t take care of a living being, you have to take the necessary measures to find someone that can. Otherwise, we will aggressively pursue charges against you.”
Animal cruelty in Alabama is generally a class A misdemeanor that carries a possible punishment of up to a year in jail and/or fines and court costs.
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