INDIANA -- A local man has been arrested and charged with nearly a dozen counts of animal cruelty after police say as many as six dead dogs were found on a property he once owned just north of the city.
Knox County Sheriff Mike Morris said officers arrested 58-year-old Gary Linus Dunt Monday afternoon after a near week-long investigation.
Morris said the property, 6701 N. Camp Arthur Road, was recently sold at a tax sale, and the new owner notified police when he discovered dead and malnourished dogs there.
Morris said officers immediately coordinated an effort with the State Veterinarian's Office and Vincennes Animal Shelter Director Laura Arial, and on April 1 they converged upon the property, removing several dead dogs and nearly a dozen others in dire need of attention.
Police found two dead dogs inside a detached garage, another three dead inside the house and one more just this week that is likely connected to the case as well, Morris said.
There were 11 severely malnourished dogs found confined inside the house with no access to food or water, Arial said, that are now being cared for at the city animal shelter at 1128 River Road.
Investigators said they didn't believe Dunt had been living inside the house, only keeping dogs there. And Arial said given the state of the house, the amount of excrement, etc., she guesses the animals had been living in those conditions for upwards of two years.
Police believe Dunt was coming by the house every so often and leaving a 55-pound bag of dog food for them to fight over.
It's not uncommon for local officials to see hoarding cases, but Morris said they are rarely of this magnitude, which is what prompted Dunt's arrest.
“The number of dogs. The condition of the surviving dogs. Just the overall picture, it was awful,” he said. “We do see this kind of things frequently, but never to this magnitude. This is probably one of the worst ones.”
Arial, too, called the scene “just terrible.”
“And, to me, this is really disgusting because when he did come by, he saw the conditions they were living in, but he still just leaves a little food and goes,” she said. “They were starving to death.”
Morris said since Dunt wasn't living in the house on Camp Arthur Road, police weren't immediately sure where to find him. During their investigation, they found out he worked at Vincennes University, and it's there they were able to arrest him Monday afternoon.
Morris said they aren't sure where Dunt had been living as the addresses he gave police haven't checked out.
Arial, meanwhile, said the dogs seem to be recovering nicely and could be up for adoption in a couple of weeks.
“We're working with them, trying to keep them social,” she said. “They're not used to being around people, but they have such a sweet disposition, which is pretty hard to believe.
“We had two females with an infection that had to have surgery, and most of the dogs had nasty ear infections,” Arial said. “They're all missing some hair, but we've cleaned them up and they're going to be beautiful, beautiful dogs.”
While it's hard to tell given their current condition, Arial said she believes most of the dogs are setter/spaniel mixes.
“They're so pretty,” she added.
When Arial took over the shelter more than two years ago, it was running at or far over capacity near all the time. Thanks to fundraising efforts, more local adoptions and relationships built with other animal rescues, Arial has cut that in half.
But with nearly a dozen dogs arriving in a single day, their resources are being stretched thin.
“We've been running at about half-occupancy for about a year, but right now, we're nearly full,” she said. “With these dogs, we almost doubled our population over night, so it's definitely been a strain.
“What we really need are people willing to come out and meet these dogs, socialize them, show them that people are good. Then we need people willing to give them a home.”
For more information, contact the animal shelter at 812-882-8826.
(Sun Commercial - April 13, 2016)
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