COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Two people were charged with misdemeanors after deputies found several malnourished dogs at an empty residence in Keytesville.
Vincent Brummer and Emily Brummer were charged with three counts of animal abuse and three counts of animal neglect. Warrants were issued on Monday and $1,500 bonds were set.
According to the probable cause statement, a neighbor called law enforcement saying that a German shepherd had been tangled in a chain in a backyard for several days. A Chariton County deputy on Sunday knocked on the door of the residence – where he wrote he knew both Brummers lived – and heard other dogs barking, the release says.
The deputy saw a utility shut-off notice that was taped to the door that had a Friday date. Mail for both people was in an open mailbox and postmarked for May 13, the statement says.
The deputy went to the backyard and saw a malnourished German shepherd chained to a board with an “intentionally shortened chain,” the statement says. Empty buckets and bowls were in the area and the deputy poured water out of a spigot from a neighboring yard, the statement says.
The deputy filled a 5-gallon bucket and the dog drank 5 inches from it immediately, the statement says. The deputy then went inside the residence and was “overwhelmed by a strong, putrid odor, intensified by the heat inside the uncooled home. Dog feces were present in several rooms.”
An emaciated pit bull was found, along with a dachshund that was locked in a crate without food or water, the statement says.
“Both dogs appeared extremely malnourished and lethargic. Neither responded significantly to my presence, which I believe to be due to extreme dehydration and starvation,” court documents say.
Temperatures in the days leading up to Sunday eclipsed 80 degrees. After the dachshund was let out of the crate, it immediately ran to an empty water bowl, the deputy wrote. Law enforcement estimates the animals were without care for four or five days.
A vet determined the dogs had poor care for about six months, court documents say. The statement says that the dogs were brought to Saving Dogs Rescue in Moberly.
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