Malnourished dogs rescued from Delaware County home
DELAWARE COUNTY (WISH) – An investigation is underway after several dogs were rescued from a home described to be in “deplorable condition.”
Muncie Animal Care and Services rescued the dogs on Friday. Officers there say the dogs were severely underweight, covered in feces and fleas, and likely have worms.
“They are sweethearts. They’re just craving, starving for attention and proper nutrition and proper medical care,” said Ethan Browning, animal control officer with Muncie Animal Care and Services.
Those are all things Browning says he believes the dogs have not had in a while. One of the dogs was about half the body weight he should have been. Browning says almost every bone in the dog’s body was visible.
“As much muscle mass that he has lost, he has no fat on him. So now his body is feeding on the muscle; next the organs start to shut down,” said Browning.
The dogs were rescued from a house in Eaton, a town about 10 miles north of Muncie.
“We were called for a town ordinance violation. We went to the residence; we became aware of the animal problem, knew something wasn’t right just from the appearance,” said Officer Chris Liggett with the Eaton Police Department.
“You took one step inside the house and you just… it is an overwhelming stench of ammonia and filth,” said Browning.
Rescuers say they were able to get to these dogs before it was too late. All three are expected to make a complete recovery. A fourth dog was also rescued, but they say that dog was not crated and appeared to be in decent health.
Police are not releasing the name of the owner or address of the home these dogs were rescued from but tell us the owner could face animal neglect charges.
Right now there’s no word on if or when these dogs will be put up for adoption.