Cookeville man, Cody Phifer, charged with animal cruelty

TENNESSEE -- A 25-year-old Cookeville man has been charged with animal cruelty.

Cody Phifer, of 2175 Mackie Road, was arrested on Tuesday for an incident that dates back to April 22.

Deputy Chris Brown says in a report of the April incident that deputies had responded to that address to investigate another matter, but what those deputies found instead were four abandoned dogs being kept in deplorable conditions.

“When I arrived, I could see two pit bull dogs in one room of the house with no food or water available to them and feces all over the room,” Deputy Brown says in his report.

The homeowners gave the deputies permission to enter, but the report of the incident says they were unable to gain access through the doorway.

Deputies instead entered “the house by a window that was open next to the front door,” he said.

Upon entrance, the deputy said he “discovered that two wood boards had been nailed to the floor on the inside of the house to prevent entrance through that door.”

The inside of the house “smelled of urine, dog feces, mildew and mold,” according to the arrest warrant served on Phifer this week.

Deputy Brown’s report says, “There was trash on the floor and furniture, all over the house.”

Both the warrant and report describe the scene as “unlivable conditions for humans.”

One of the pit bulls the deputies had seen inside the house was “loose in the residence, and the other [was] locked inside a room, inside a small dog cage,” according to the warrant.

And two other adult dogs were discovered inside a locked bedroom, according to the reports.

None of the four dogs found inside the house had food or water available to them, the deputy’s report says.

“The animals were starving and in horrible shape,” the warrant describes.

With the help of the other deputies who discovered the situation, Deputy Brown says he removed the animals from the house.

“[I] transported them to the Putnam County Animal Shelter, where they were fed and watered by the staff,” he said.

The animals will be held at the shelter until further notice.

(Cookeville Herald Citizen - May 7, 2015)