Mackenzie Lavey, 28, formerly of Vermilion Township, now lives in the Sandusky area. She has been charged with one count of companion animal cruelty, a first degree misdemeanor. A second count will be filed soon. A court date of 9 a.m. Jan. 5 has been set at Vermilion Municipal Court.
Lavey showed up at her former mobile home at the Harbourtown Mobile Home Community in Vermilion after Erie County Dog Warden Barb Knapp was called to the scene shortly before noon Dec. 21, after the mobile home park took possession of it. Knapp investigates animal cruelty cases for the county.
Knapp found two small dogs that were still alive, and two cats dead in a back room. The home was trashed and dirty. Water service had been cut off back in August, Knapp said.
When Lavey showed up, she had a request, Knapp said.
"I asked her if she knew the two cats had died, and she said yes," Knapp said. "She wanted her dogs back. I didn't feel comfortable leaving them there in those conditions."
"When you walked in, the whole place was kind of destroyed," Knapp said. "The couches were all torn up. I think the animals were looking for a place to keep warm in."
The cat boxes were old and moldy, Knapp said.
The two cats were taken to the dog pound's veterinarian, Dr. Marianne Socha, who examined the bodies and said the cats appeared to be thin and dehydrated.
"Between the food and water situation, that's probably what caused their demise," said Knapp, who said she could not find water anywhere in the mobile home, even in the toilets.
"I wish she had let them go outside," Knapp said.
The dogs also appeared to be dehydrated but were in pretty good shape, Knapp said. One is a Shiba Inu while the other appears to be a lab and pit bull mix, she said.
The dogs were taken to the dog pound, where they remain. Knapp said the dogs will be adopted out if the court gives custody to the dog pound. Lavey has been visiting the pound to see them, Knapp said.
Lavey said she had fallen into financial difficulties, Knapp said.
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