MISSOURI --The Kennett Humane Department has said it is one of the worst cases of animal neglect it has ever seen, referring to a case in which a local Labrador Retriever had a chain embedded in its neck.
According to a report from the KHD, at approximately 9:30 a.m., on Wednesday, June 20, Animal Control Officer, Tena Petix was dispatched to a residence on Leila Drive regarding a report that a dog was chained up without shelter, and a report that the collar on the dog was too tight.
According to Petix, when she arrived at the residence she made contact with two adult females and identified the resident and owner of the dog.
Petix asked the pet owner if she had a dog that was tied to a fence or if she had recently brought a dog into her home. The owner said that she did not know what Petix was talking about, and that she owned only one dog and that it was a pug. Petix advised the owner that the pug could not be without water and shelter if the dog was outside.
Afterwards, Petix made contact with the caller who reported the incident. The Caller told Petix that the dog was at the rear of the residence on Leila Drive, and she would meet Petix at the residence.
When Petix arrived, she saw two subjects at the back of the residence. As Petix started walking towards the two subjects, she could smell something that she reported smelled deceased. The caller started pointing at the ground, and when Petix whistled, out came a large black lab mix, that had dug a tunnel in the dirt for itself to stay out of the direct sunlight.
The dog was also chained with a long metal chain to a tree with a pad lock. As Petix got closer to the dog she could see that the dog did not have a collar, but had the long chain pad locked to his neck with two large pad locks. Petix said she could see that the chain had been on the animal's neck so long that the flesh had begun to grow through the link of chain into a mass, the size of a ping pong ball.
Petix stated that the dog would have had to be like this for several months for the mass to have grown to this size. The chain had to be cut off of the dogs neck, because the owners did not have keys to any of the locks. Due to an open flesh wound on the neck of the dog, Petix had to cut the chain in two separate places, to keep the weight of the chain from pulling on the wound.
Petix said the only source of food the dog had was a large, dirty cooler with white beans and maggots inside of it. The dog also did not have water and when the dog was digging the "dry, concrete like dirt," for it's shelter, it's nails were worn down almost to the quick.
The dog was taken to Dr. Everett Mobley, of Kennett Veterinary Clinic, for immediate care. The dog will be under the care of Dr. Mobley for several more weeks, but will be housed at the Kennett Humane Department. Petix said she hopes to put the dog up for adoption after it's recovery.
According to the Humane Officer, the wounds to the neck of the dog required a one and a half hour long surgery to remove pieces of the chain that was embedded in its skin.
The owners of the animal, identified as Earl and Sheila Gerrolds, are each being charged with one count of animal neglect and one count of animal cruelty, according to Terry McVey, city attorney.
(Daily Dunklin Democrat - June 22, 2012)
