MONROE COUNTY, Ga. — Monroe County Sheriff Brad Freeman says four dogs and one cat here at the Monroe County Animal Shelter are victims of animal cruelty. On Wednesday, one of the people the sheriff's office believes is responsible was arrested and taken to the Monroe County jail.
Deputies called in county animal services after finding what they called a "horrible" scene on Sunday.
"Basically the urine smell and the feces was overwhelming to them," Freeman said.
Those were the conditions that Magic, Maurice, Simba, and Smokey were discovered on Sunday. But luckily, they were alive. Another dog, Hercules, was discovered dead in a crate after starving to death, authorities believe.
All around, the sheriff's office described the scene in a press release as "horrible, unlivable conditions."
It was so bad, Freeman said, that his deputies themself had a tough time investigating at the home off Barr None Road.
"You'd have to be pretty horrible to live in this trailer that they were in because even the deputies that were investigating, they'd have to go outside, you know, every so often just to catch their breath because you know their eyes were watering and their nose was running. It was just pretty bad," Freeman said.
The sheriff's office released a statement on Tuesday asking for the public's help finding two suspects, Sabrina Parks and Robert Wood. On Wednesday, the sheriff's office announced they arrested Parks, but they are still asking for help finding Wood.
Parks was arrested on animal cruelty charges, the sheriff's office said.
Freeman said multiple animals were neglected at the home. He said one dog was so hungry it had tried eating a pet snake.
"You had a cat several other dogs that you know had feces in their fur matted. You had one deceased dog on the scene, then you had two dogs that, you know, obviously hadn’t eaten in weeks. They were just basically fur and bones," Freeman said.
Urine and feces covered the floor inside the home. In the backyard, there were multiple kennels. But the kennel for one of the dogs, Hercules, didn't have any access to food, which Monroe County Animal Services say led to his death.
Magic, Maurice, Simba, and Smokey were taken back to the shelter to recover and act as evidence in this case.
Since the animals could not fend for themselves and were left to suffer, Freeman believes the owners need to be punished.
"Could’ve done a lot of to avoid this, but they chose not to do it. They made a conscious decision not to do it and hence they find themselves with warrants for their arrest," Freeman said.
Parks was arrested on animal cruelty charges. The other owner, Wood, has a warrant issued for his arrest.
But if you have information on where Wood might be, you can call the Sheriff's Office at 478-994-7593.