Nearly 190 animals that Apache Junction police found at a home in deplorable conditions in February won’t be returned to the couple who owned them, officials said Tuesday. Apache Junction City Attorney Joel Stern said the city has also forwarded the case to the Pinal County Attorney’s Office for possible criminal charges. In the civil hearing, a judge ordered that all surviving 189 animals wouldn’t be returned to the family who lives on South Hilton and had kept the dogs, rabbits, chickens, goats, horses, cats, a pig, an African Parrot and a cockatiel in dirty smelly conditions. One horse hadn’t stood up in months and had to be euthanized, baby goats were found soiled and crying and other animals were so sickly they too had to be killed. “We took a lot of the animals, in fact I think we took all of the rabbits and it took most of two days to trim all of the rabbit toenails,” said Pinal County spokeswoman Heather Murphy. Pinal County assisted in the rescue efforts and Murphy said workers stayed overnight to help groom and trim animals, although the case itself was in Apache Junction’s jurisdiction. Stern said the couple who owned the animals were willing to give up all of the pets, except one — a large Great Dane and Mastiff mix — which they told the court belongs to their son. “I thought, you know what?” Stern said. “It was in that house and I don’t think it should go back to anyone else associated with that house.” The courts decided the dog was “cruelly neglected” and also shouldn’t be returned to the family.
A.J. officials: Neglected animals won’t go homeJuly 29th, 2008, 8:14 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Katie McDevittLeave a Reply |
