CONCORD, Vt. (WCAX) – Nearly two dozen dogs have been removed from an Essex County home as a result of an animal cruelty investigation that authorities say also revealed allegations of child abuse.
“When you walk in there and you see the things that we saw — it’s heartbreaking,” said Sharon Eaton with Riverside Rescue, who was part of a team that executed a search warrant at a property on South Street in Concord earlier this week.
Paperwork cites dogs living in poor conditions in crates stacked on top of each other in the same house as the family. “It is horrifying. Those dogs are living in hell and the smells — they were in feces,” Eaton said.
Officials say 25 dogs were found living in unsanitary conditions. Two dogs and a reptile were found dead in a freezer.
Related Stories
Nineteen of the dogs are now at the Riverside Animal Rescue in Lunenburg. “They just… they have no human contact,” Eaton said.
The search was prompted after a complaint was filed at a local school. “Children were reported attending school smelling of dog feces and urine — to the point where it was distracting to other members of the school,” said Essex County State’s Attorney Vince Illuzi.
The Essex County Sheriff’s Department says that Mark Whitney and Rebecca Knowles have both been cited for animal cruelty. Knowles has also been cited for cruelty to a child. The number of charges is still yet to be determined as the investigation continues.
There was no response when WCAX knocked on the door Friday.
Back at the rescue, Easton says extensive work is being done to get the dogs back to good health, but she points out a flawed system in Vermont that has existed for years. “These dogs are going to cost us thousands of dollars just getting them spayed or neutered and all of their vaccines, and we absorb that cost,” she said.
It may take weeks or even months but Eaton says they hope to find a home for all of the dogs.
Copyright 2025 WCAX. All rights reserved.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
