ROME, N.Y. — After a flurry of phone calls and emails, the CNY SPCA dropped by a farm in Rome facing allegations of animal cruelty.
They found no violations.
“We went there today and spoke to the people, they gave us a tour of the premises and we found no violations at all,” said Chris LaMontagne, one of the investigators who toured the farm on Link Road.
Owners William Coonrod Sr. and his son, William Coonrod Jr. said this blowback is coming from people who don’t know them.
“This barn’s been out of business for almost 30 years we put it back in business and now they’re hating on us,” Coonrod Jr. said.
The owners showed investigators and NewsChannel2 the dogs were being kept inside a barn with an overflowing trough of food.
Normally, the dogs were “free range” like all of their other animals, but they alleged people were coming to their property and trying to take their dogs away by luring them with food.
“Why don’t they just leave us alone? We don’t bother them,” Coonrod Sr. said.
The investigators said they received a lot of feedback from the community this weekend.
“I came in today and saw 18 emails about link road. we’re well aware of the situation,” said Sully Sullivan, another investigator with CNY SPCA.
An online petition about the alleged neglect of the dogs has more than 400 signatures.
The CNY SPCA investigators said they will return to the farm for regular checks and that an investigation is ongoing.
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