Four dogs were found dead, two dogs were found malnourished and four kittens were found neglected, court records show.
Following a bench trial Thursday morning, Limestone District Judge Jeanne Anderson convicted Dawn Michelle Malone, 33, of 14495 Blackburn Road, on 12 counts of animal cruelty. The judge sentenced Malone to 12 years in jail, but the sentence was split so she would serve 490 days in jail.
Once Malone’s jail time is served she will have to serve two years on unsupervised probation and reimburse veterinarian Robert Pittman for $245 worth of medical care, records show. The judge also barred Malone from possessing animals in the future. She has 14 days to appeal her conviction.
Limestone County Assistant District Attorney Gray West tried the case.
Grisly discovery
According to the complaint filed by Limestone County Sheriff’s Deputy Terry Johnson, Malone and her fiancé, Chad Kelly, left the home they were renting at 10237 Snake Road sometime in August.
Kelly, who is disabled and in a wheelchair, had been in the hospital most of August, said Limestone County Chief Deputy District Attorney Jim Ayers Jr. On Sept. 9, homeowner Joe Mark Davis stopped by the rental home because he had not received rent, because the power was off, and because he thought the couple had abandoned the property, Ayers said. When Davis arrived, he heard dogs barking inside and believed the occupants had abandoned the property with animals inside, Ayers said.
According to a report filed Sept. 9 by Johnson, he and Limestone County Animal Control Officer Mike Clem went to the home at Davis’ request. When no one responded to knocking on the door, Clem looked inside a window and noticed a dog lying dead on the floor, Johnson reported.
When the homeowner unlocked the door, officers were met by “an overwhelming odor of decomposing flesh and fecal matter,” Johnson reported. “I noticed a large piece of flesh with hair on it lying in front of the door. The fur appeared to be from a feline. Clem captured an emaciated dog in the living room and a very thin cat with four kittens.
"In a nearby room, I noticed a dead, black and white dog that had started decomposing on the floor. In a rear bedroom, we discovered a white dog and a canine corpse in a cage. The white dog was alive and had been eating on the canine corpse to survive. There was a large amount of animal fecal matter on the floor …”
Clem took possession of both the living animals and the corpses. Ayers said the charges covered the following animals:
• A dead adult Boston terrier, a dead miniature Doberman pincher and parts of three dead Boston terrier puppies;
• A malnourished mixed-breed dog and a malnourished Chihuahua; and
• A neglected adult cat and four kittens.
No transportation
During the trial, Malone, who was staying elsewhere, said she did not have transportation back to the home to care for the animals and that she had also lost her key to the dwelling, Ayers said.
Kelly testified that Malone had obtained transportation to the hospital to visit him and to get groceries and run errands and that he had left his keys to the home with her, Ayers said.
She didn't have transportation but she certainly found transportation to find food to shove in her fat, ugly face.
(News Courier - Feb 12, 2015)
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