The mobile home is located in Pony Creek just south of Council Bluffs in Mills County Iowa.
Neighbors in the small lake community of about 100 people assisted in the rescue along with volunteers from Hooves and Paws rescue and Pottawattamie County Animal control.
Once inside the rescue team found the floors covered with animal feces and urine. Most of the furniture cushions torn and perhaps eaten away by the dogs that are primarily a beagle mix.
Genea Stoops of Hooves and Paws said, “You can’t even breathe in there and the animals have been in there 24 hours a day.”
The owner asks that his name not be used because he hasn’t been charged with a crime. He told Fact Finders he loves the dogs like his own family but didn’t want to give them up out of fear that an animal shelter would put them down.
The owner said, “I know the inside was bad for them but after losing my job and car I couldn’t clean it like I wanted to.”
The pet owner, who moved in with a relative about 25 miles away in Omaha, said someone did take him to the trailer almost very day to provide food, water and day old bread as a treat for the dogs.
The owner claims he had left two air conditioners running up until Sunday morning. However, when rescuers entered the trailer the temperature inside was about 93 degrees.
He said, “Something happened, I can’t tell you what.”
The seized pets have been taken to an undisclosed location for care. The owner has relinquished his claim over the animals.
The Mills County attorney will review video of the living conditions for the pets along with vet reports then determine if charges will be filed against the pet owner.
(WOWT - July 16, 2012)