CRESCENT CITY, Fla. – Two people are facing animal neglect charges after multiple dogs that were said to be in bad shape were taken from a home in Crescent City, according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
According to a complaint affidavit, Putnam County deputies were called to a home on South Highway 17 in Crescent City to assist animal control officers who were investigating a complaint from an anonymous person.
Authorities found an adult Weimaraner that was extremely malnourished. The dog’s hips and ribs were very prominent, and the animal appeared to have been suffering from extreme dehydration.
Eight other dogs were located on the property, five were puppies that were approximately six to eight weeks old. The other three were adult dogs. According to investigators, all eight of the animals were visibly malnourished.
Investigators also noted that all the puppies were kept in a dirty pen with no food or clean water. Their ribs, hips and shoulder bones were visible. One of the puppies had a noticeable injury to its leg.
A deputy noted in the report that all the puppies were so skittish that it appeared they had little to no human interaction.
According to the complaint affidavit, a man in the home told investigators that the dogs did not belong to him and that a woman dropped them off. Then he claimed two of the dogs as his animals and said the Weimaraner belonged to his ex-girlfriend who moved out a month ago when they separated. The report states the man told investigators that the puppies’ mother was hit and killed by a car days before animal control arrived at his home.
A deputy noted in the complaint affidavit that when he was asked when the dogs were dropped off and the last time they ate, his only response was that the woman “dropped them off a few weeks ago and I’ve been giving them what I can for food because I don’t have money to buy them food right now.”
Deputies eventually contacted the woman. According to the affidavit, she told investigators that the dogs belonged to her and that she took them to the man’s property because she had no place to keep them, but that she left enough food to eat.
Animal advocates say that if a pet owner needs help feeding their animal, there are local organizations the owner can reach out to via phone call or online for help.
“Make a phone call. A lot of these animals can’t take care of themselves, almost like children,” said Capt. David Ussery, of the Sheriff’s Office. “There are resources out there. There are people willing to help. If there is no one to call, call the Sheriff’s Office. We can lead them in the right direction.”
After assessing the living conditions of the dogs, animal control decided to seize seven of them – five puppies and two adult dogs.
Florida Urgent Rescue or F.U.R. arrived at the shelter to pick up six of the dogs that required immediate medical attention. The dogs were taken to Palm Valley Veterinary Center where, according to F.U.R. President Mike Merrill, a veterinarian at the center told him that one of the puppies named Max was in the worst shape based on blood work. Max and another puppy named Neo required an immediate blood transfusion to survive the night.
“One was in more critical condition than the other,” Merrill said. “They’re both now stabilized, but had we not got them to the vet, I don’t think they would have survived.”
Notably, News4JAX does not typically name people who are facing misdemeanor charges — and that applies to the man and woman in this case. Investigators say the man was charged with seven counts of animal neglect, and the woman was charged with five counts of animal neglect. Neither was arrested because they received a misdemeanor summons to appear in court, But according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, depending on what the final reports from the vet’s office reveal, those misdemeanor charges could be upgraded to felonies. If the state attorney’s office decides to upgrade the charges, a warrant will be issued for their arrest.