Police in Van Buren County, Arkansas say the owner of nearly 50 dogs passed away from Hepatitis C complications last August – and was then partially consumed by her hungry pets.
Officials with the Van Buren County Sheriff’s office as well as animal control told local news outlets that the 65-year-old woman, whose full identity is being withheld at this time, had been on their radar before because of concerns over hoarding.
Police say that when they first arrived at the property, the dogs were so aggressive they were unable to approach the home.
“When the deputies arrived on the scene to get in to her, the dogs were vicious,” Van Buren County Sheriff Scott Bradley told KARK News in Little Rock, Arkansas.
“You couldn’t even get into the trailer to check on her to see what needed to be done.”
READ MORE: Mother of fallen cop sends text to dead son’s phone, amazed when she gets a reply
Police and animal control officers were forced to shoot nine of the dogs before they could enter the woman’s home to check on her condition and ultimately, confirm her death.
That’s also when they discovered the hungry dogs had partially consumed their former owner after she passed away.
Despite first being discovered in August, the woman and her dogs – 46 in all, according to police – were in the news again this week after animal control made the difficult and controversial decision to euthanize 27 of the animals, due to concerns they might spread the Hepatitis C.
“That’s when the real threat began: when they started to roam into the neighbours’ yards,” animal control officer Reta Tharp told KARK.
For weeks, she says she and a veterinarian had worked to try to save the animals, only coming to the decision to put them down after one of the dogs attacked a veterinarian.
“It was the only resource we had. We had tried everything else, and it just failed,” Tharp said.
“I did what I felt like had to be done.”
Comments