Georgia: Jackie Egerton and Matt Egerton were supposed to be pet sitting but abandoned pets to die, say owners

GEORGIA -- (Posted on Facebook) ATTENTION WHITE COUNTY FRIENDS AND ANIMAL LOVERS. PLEASE READ VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!!

As many of you know a year ago my family and I moved to SC to pursue a job opportunity. We had pets that unfortunately could not make the move with us. We interviewed many people to be caretakers for our river home while we were gone.

 

Jackie Egerton and Matt Egerton have been arrested

After a disturbing email from HEMC last night at dinner about our meter being disconnected we found the bill hasn't been paid since the 22nd.

I told Catie to come to Ga to investigate today. Only one of the ASPCA commercials would you see the horror she found.

 

 

The agreement was easy. NO rent, just pay the utilities and live in a 5000 sq foot house on the river and take care of the 10k dollars worth of KOI we had and our old pit bull and a few cats.

What Catie found was unimaginable and after Animal control and the police got there, it got even worse.

 

 

The entire house was full of cats with no food and water. Some dead and the total was well over 20.

[One of their cats was found dead on the stairs inside the house; its neck had been snapped, they said. It's bad enough to think of these poor animals starving to death after being abandoned, but it's even worse to think they may have been tortured to death]

The pit was roaming free and was so skinny her ribs were protruding and also had no food and water.

 

 

 

"Tink made it through her first night in SC. She is
eating food and the medicine seems to be helping.
She is weak and has trouble climbing the stairs, but
she is getting puppy pampering."

The koi pond looked as if someone had backed into it and was silent with movement.

Animal control retrieved at least 6 dead cats from inside and the house was trashed. Feces and urine everywhere. Windows broke out and trash just thrown out on the porch and front yard. Animal control is meeting with Catie to pursue cruelty and neglect charges against these people and also with deputies to file criminal destruction warrants against them.

 

Animal feces everywhere. This is months and months
of animals urinating and defecating in the house. 

Mrs. Bryant posted on Facebook: "Even yesterday when I was on my way to GA she [Jackie Egerton] told me the pets and house were fine"

JACKIE EGERTON and MATT EGERTON may you rot in hell for what you did.

 

 

 

 

 

Catie just called and she tried to give the fish fresh water and they are all dead.

All of our cats are gone and one of our favorites was lying dead in the grass.

 

 

 

These two [work as] cooks and pastry chefs in Helen (Georgia) so please spread the word and look at the pictures I am posting. The ASPCA needs to be called and these two need to be brought up on federal charges. The house was so nasty and flea infested that WCSO would not even enter to do a complete walk through.

IT is inexcusable that someone would reach out and try to help a family in need as we did when we made our choice to let this family move in and live in our home. I'm not sure if the house is even fixable as far as the overall urine etc that has been left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Animal control came out on a emergency visit and quarantined the house till tomorrow when they could get full staff to remove all the cats dead and alive from the house.

 

 

Please make sure these people get the attention they deserve for the wonderful way they treated people that tried to give them a opportunity to enjoy something nice. There is a special place in hell for you two and hopefully a special place in jail as well.

PLEASE SHARE THIS UNTIL THEY ARE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE!!!!

        

Earlier:

• Georgia: Couple takes in needy family, returns home to find pets dead, trash everywhere

Georgia: Couple takes in needy family, returns home to find pets dead, trash everywhere

UPDATE: The White County Sheriff charged Matthew Egerton and Jacquelynn Egerton with aggravated cruelty to animals and both were booked into jail Friday, September 2.

GEORGIA -- A White County couple tried to do a good deed, but it blew up in their faces.

They let a low income family live in their house at 206 Hiawassee Lane, rent-free, in return for watching their pets. But when they returned months later, the house was trashed and most of the animals were dead.

 

"[It was] disgusting. I had to do leap frogs to find a bare spot in the floor," said homeowner Catie Bryant.

As Bryant explained, she and her husband moved to South Carolina indefinitely for his job, but they also wanted to keep their house in Georgia. They started looking for a caretaker who could live in the house for free as long as they paid the utilities and looked after the pets.

"We interviewed for about a month, several different people, and she came out multiple times."

They finally decided on a couple with two children who described themselves as animal lovers. But when Catie Bryant came to visit in August after being away for eight months, the place was a total disaster.

The couple originally had five cats that were fixed and stayed outdoors, but they found sixteen cats inside the house without food, water or air conditioning. Nine of those sixteen cats were dead.

It also looked like someone crashed a car into their outdoor pond, which used to be filled with at least 50 expensive Koi fish. Almost all of them were dead; there are only two still alive in the filthy pond.

With a view of the Chattahoochee River, Bryant said the house used to be a nice place. Today, it is covered in garbage and animal waste.

"I don't see how someone could live in a house like that, with children, and be so cruel to animals," said Bryant.

The dog was one of the few survivors, but animal control officers said she appeared to be starving and covered in fleas.

 

Our cameras were there as county inspectors furiously brushed off the fleas they picked up from touring the house. They had only been inside for a few minutes. White County Animal Control officers told CBS46 it's the worst flea infestation they've ever seen.

In the video clip, they were seen spraying themselves to try to get the fleas off of them. 

 

"I'm all the emotions wrapped into one, disgusted and sad," said Bryant.

Bryant thanked White County law enforcement for braving the flea-infested house to rescue the surviving animals.

The sheriff obtained an arrest warrant for the two adult members of the family who abandoned the house. Bryant said there were also two juveniles living with them.

 

White County investigators said they expect the man and woman to turn themselves in soon.

CBS46 was unable to track down the accused family Wednesday, but on Thursday, their attorney, Blake Poole, sent the following statement:

"The Egerton's left their residence on August 17, 2016, to go stay with family nearby. While they were staying with family, Mrs. Jackie Egerton would go back to the residence on a daily basis to check on the animals, feed them and ensure they had adequate water.

 

"On Thursday, August 25, 2016, Mrs. Egerton entered the home to check on the animals, like she did every day, but, upon entry, discovered that the cats had gotten upstairs and that the animals had made a mess of the home. After putting out food and fresh water, Mrs. Egerton left the home that evening with the intention of coming back over the weekend to clean up the mess.

'At no point in time were any of the animals mistreated or malnourished. The Egerton's love their animals and the animals owned by the homeowner and always took good care of them."

Blake Poole, I hope you're getting a lot of money from them to release such a ridiculous lie attached to your name. Do you realize how stupid you sound?

 

As of Thursday afternoon, Poole said his clients had not yet turned themselves in to the sheriff.

UPDATE: The White County Sheriff charged Matthew Egerton (aka Matt Egerton) and Jacquelynn Egerton (aka Jackie Egerton) with aggravated cruelty to animals and both were booked into jail Friday, September 2.

 

(WTVM - Sept 1, 2016)