Christian Peterson
reporter.riverbendnews@gmail.com
In its continuing investigation into the Hamilton County Animal Control facility under the care of former Animal Control Officer Alicia Anderson, Riverbend News sat down with Stacy Allen and Marie Harrell, who run Thelma and Louise Dog Rescue. The rescue was the first organization to respond to the call for help when the egregious conditions were discovered in late October. In the following interview with Riverbend News, the duo revealed all they saw, as well as their history with the shelter and with Anderson.
"We've always tried to help out the community and animal control," Harrell said. "It was brought to our attention there were some mother dogs up there (at Hamilton County Animal Control) with babies."
Harrell and Allen had previously assisted the shelter by aiding a paralyzed dog. The dog was scheduled to be put down, but Anderson contacted the rescue, knowing they had a nearby veterinarian with whom they had an active account to help the animal. Upon assisting the dog, Harrell and Allen learned there were two mother canines with babies. They reached out to the shelter for more information to provide further assistance but never heard anything back. After leaving several messages, Harrell and Allen decided to visit the animal control shelter to see the mothers for themselves and scheduled an appointment with Anderson for Monday, Oct. 23.
During the text conversation, Harrell explained to Anderson why Monday is the best day for them, as the rescues that Thelma and Louise work with would hold adoption weekends; if the weekend was very successful, they had more room to take in new animals. The duo explained they were highly interested in the two mothers, as it was dangerous for them to be around other dogs due to their protective nature. However, during the text conversation, Harrell also mentioned wanting to include County Coordinator Gary Godwin in the appointment.
"She (Anderson) automatically called me because I mentioned Gary," Harrell said. "She said, 'Please do not call him. I'm not supposed to have this many dogs in this facility. I will get in trouble, possibly lose my job.'" Harrell went on to state how when they arrived at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 23, they were not allowed past the door. "There was a volunteer by the name of April who met me at the door and would not allow me to come in," Harrell stated. "Apparently, there was a dog fight, and they had been working on it for 30 minutes."
According to the two, Anderson then came to the door and stepped outside the shelter, still refusing their entrance.
"You could tell she was very shaken and upset because of what had happened, and she was trying to get the dog to the vet," Harrell said. Anderson requested the women come back the next day, Tuesday, Oct. 24. "We asked her if we could help or if we could do anything at all. She said no, she had it under control."
Later that evening, Harrell and Allen's rescue received photos of a beagle involved in the fight. Harrell explained that, according to Anderson, the original altercation that ruined their appointment did not involve a beagle. According to the duo, Anderson explained the canine involved in the original fight was taken to Companion Animal Hospital in Live Oak to be euthanized due to the extent of its resulting injuries. She then explained how, on her return trip from Live Oak, there was a second fight involving the beagle. Harrell and Allen then stated they made another appointment to visit the shelter on Tuesday, Oct. 24, in order to let Anderson handle the aftermath of the two fights.
"Before we walked in, you could smell it," Allen said. The duo explained that they walked inside the shelter and found people cleaning. Harrell commented, "And the night before (Monday, Oct. 23), there had been several vehicles parked up there late." The pair then began to describe what they found.
"When you first walk in, you're in the office, and that's where she keeps the cats," Allen said. "The cats had, I'd say, 12 to 15 cans of cat food that had been eaten. They had bowls, but she couldn't even take the time to put the canned food in the bowl." Harrell added that there was also no water available for the animals.
Allen and Harrell went on to describe a horrendous scene, stating there were nearly 10 piles of feces in each kennel's cat litter box. They said they witnessed a dog cornered in the office. It wasn't in a crate or a kennel; it was just trapped in the corner by walls of boxes. Harrell and Allen stated the area was so tight that if the dog wanted to turn, it had to rub its posterior against the wall.
"There was poop everywhere, and the dog had no water, no food, nothing," Allen said.
"There were also two feral cats running around the office," Harrell added.
"The smell just hit you, like you want to gag. That's how bad it was," Allen said.
The pair then proceeded outside, where they found seven dogs in kennels. Once again, they reported the animals had no food or water. When they returned inside, Harrell and Allen discovered another sad surprise.
"She (Anderson) had told me in a previous conversation that they had two nursing moms," Harrell said. "And the day before this conversation, she told me they would both be there because those nursing moms and those puppies really don't need to be in the shelter at all."
The pair again explained that it was simply unhealthy and dangerous for the mothers and puppies to be there. On top of that, due to their connections with local rescues and fosters, the duo would be able to find somewhere much better for the furry families to go. However, the volunteer who refused them entry the prior day, April, informed Harrell and Allen the second mother had been moved a couple of days earlier. She also told them the eight puppies had been adopted out long before the two rescuers arrived.
"I was very upset, and Allie (Anderson) walked in with me and April having a very heated discussion about this dog," Harrell stated.
Harrell went on to explain that April told her the dogs were gone and that she could not get them back. Harrell explained she was disgusted and overwhelmed by what she was seeing and being told. Harrell then stated she told April to bring the dogs back or she would call Godwin and law enforcement. Afterward, she called County Commissioner Robert Brown, who immediately made his way to the animal control office.
"At this point, I felt someone else needed to come in and just see what we were seeing," Harrell stated.
Commissioner Brown arrived just in time to hear the discussion between April and Harrell, along with Anderson's response. Anderson claimed the dog was still at the shelter in the aggressive dogs' room, which April denied. Harrell explained that Anderson had taken the weekend off from Friday, Oct. 20, through Sunday, Oct. 22 and had not checked on the aggressive dogs since returning. When Harrell and Allen opened the door to the room, they were greeted by a mother dog and puppies. None were in a cage or kennel but were running freely around the room.
While the group was questioning why the volunteer lied, Harrell noticed a crate on the ground in the room and asked if there was a dog inside. According to Harrell and Allen, Anderson stated the canine had only been in the crate for two days. It had no food or water, was sitting in a pile of urine and feces, and was unable to move at all due to how small the crate was. To top it all off, the dog had coccidia. When they removed it from the crate, Harrell and Allen found a dog that looked as if it was a walking skeleton.
Behind this crate, the duo saw 10 kennels, each of which Allen stated was covered in liquid feces. Then, in the back of the aggressive dogs' room, the pair were greeted by another sad discovery: a third mother dog and puppies were in the back of the room that they had not been told about.
The first mother dog was outside with four puppies. Allen stated the mother originally had 10 puppies, but six had died within a couple of days. "We kept saying, 'Please let us help you.' Puppies are dying, and she's not doing anything," Allen said.
The second mother Harrell and Allen were originally there to see was found running freely in the aggressive dogs' room. However, the surprise of the third mother added to the concern the duo had about the shelter and how it was being run. They noticed how the dogs inside the room also had no food or water.
"When I asked her why they didn't have food, she (Anderson) said, 'I haven't had food in over a week,'" Allen said.
The pair continued voicing their frustrations with the situation, as they had reached out to help on numerous occasions. Furthermore, the duo claimed that the "aggressive dogs" were not at all what they would call aggressive.
"She was taking dogs to be euthanized because they were aggressive," Allen said. "I can't say that the ones that she euthanized weren't aggressive, but I can say that the ones that got in a fight outside fought because they were hungry." In fact, the dogs outside were the only ones who had water, which was in a plastic swimming pool. A photo taken by Allen and Harrell shows a pool full of green, dirty water.
However, the final surprise the two found in the aggressive dogs' room was the most disturbing. One wall of the room held cat kennels. Two of the kennels had two dead cats, each of which was so decayed they were almost welded to the bottom of the cage. While Harrell and Allen discussed the dead cats they found, they also spoke about the rumors of multiple dead dogs. The two explained the only dead dog they encountered and knew of was the one in the photograph that had gone viral on Facebook. They also explained many individuals had contacted them to ask about the dogs they had seen during their visit. Many of those dogs were unaccounted for, especially as the duo discovered Anderson was not keeping intake, exit, adoption or euthanasia logs.
"There is no telling how many dogs have come and gone," Harrell said.
Allen and Harrell also explained that three of the canines in the aggressive dogs' room had to be taken to Companion Animal Hospital because of how sick they were, and all of them had to be euthanized. However, the veterinarian did comment to the two that the dogs were not aggressive, just too sick to be saved.
Harrell and Allen summarized the animal control shelter could hold 10 to 12 dogs and eight cats. However, in total, there were six cats and 59 dogs and puppies in the facility. They stated the conditions were so bad that the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of Brevard County, which had only intended to take 10 to 11 dogs, changed its mind immediately upon arrival and took as many as it could. None of the dogs had solid stools, and all the male dogs were dehydrated. In addition, one dog was found to have parvo and had to be euthanized.
Harrell and Allen even described an incident that occurred two weeks prior, where Anderson had adopted out seven puppies at only four weeks old, an age they explain is far too young for puppies to be taken from their mother. The duo stated they got into an argument with Anderson, where they demanded the puppies be brought back. Anderson complied; however, as the pair did a head count, they realized one puppy was still missing, which Anderson said was a birthday present for her daughter. They, again, implored Anderson to bring back the last puppy, which looked comparable to the other dogs by being nothing but skin and bones and infested with fleas.
Harrell, Allen, Godwin, surrounding rescues and Hamilton County citizens worked tirelessly to bring the animal control facility back into order and help the dogs. On the first night, Harrell and Allen did not leave the shelter until midnight. The duo state words cannot fully describe the atrocities they saw that day.
"It was the most horrific, most heartbreaking thing I have ever seen in my life. Just innocent babies begging to be held," Allen said.
"The animal cruelty was just heartbreaking," Harrell stated with tears coming to her eyes.
Riverbend News will conduct interviews with community members and government officials to reveal more details as this investigation continues. Look for more coverage in upcoming editions.