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Missing tenants sought in dog neglect case
By MARY MARAGHY, The Times-Union
May 10, 2008
Investigators are searching for Orange Park tenants who seemingly abandoned five adult dogs, including a basset hound with five newborn pups.
The five puppies were in such bad condition they had to be euthanized Friday, according to a Clay County official.
A county Animal Control officer and a sheriff's deputy forced open a door and removed two malnourished adult male basset hounds, covered in feces, from 2224 Trailwood Drive in Orange Park about 3:20 p.m. Wednesday.
The officers were responding to a report of dogs in poor health alone in an empty home. According to a police report, there was no food or water for the dogs, the room was covered in feces and plywood blocked doorways to keep the dogs from entering the rest of the house. The female hound was unable to move and had five puppies still attached to her by the umbilical cord and afterbirth, according to the report.
Officers also found and removed a small dog they found locked in a bathroom and a Great Dane in the home with protruding ribs, according to the report.
All the other dogs were returned to Animal Control Friday after receiving treatment at Lake Area Animal Hospital, according to Jackie Slaybaugh, Clay County government affairs coordinator. Slaybaugh said the veterinarian who treated the dogs said the mother was toxic and was not producing milk to nourish the puppies.
Officers called the homeowner, Phillip Coale of Sopchoppy, who said he had been renting the Fleming Island house.
According to the report, a neighbor said no one had been at the house for at least two weeks and the power and water service to the home was turned off a week ago. She said she reported the dogs' situation to Animal Control a month ago.
Slaybaugh said Animal Control responded to the initial complaint and left a warning notice on the door of the home. She said Animal Control went to the home on Wednesday after Coale showed the home to a prospective buyer, who took photos of the dogs and showed them to Animal Control.
The tenants' names are not being released because they are suspects in a pending investigation, according to Mary Justino of the Clay County Sheriff's Office.
mary.maraghy@jacksonville.com
(904) 366-6374.
Copyright 2008
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