VALLEY, Neb. (WOWT) – A heart-wrenching case of alleged animal neglect was discovered near the Omaha-metro this week.
On Thursday, Valley Police got a tip to check out living conditions for several dogs. When the homeowner wouldn’t let them in, officers came back with a search warrant.
Warning: This coverage contains some graphic details that may be too disturbing for some.
While authorities were removing the animals, a small dog jumped a backyard fence to checkout Valley officers and Douglas County deputies who had come to rescue him and six other dogs from alleged unsanitary conditions.
“They weren’t being taken care of medically so a lot of them had fleas, you could tell fleas had been eating away at them. So that’s kind of where we got with the neglect,” Valley Police Chief Bobby Martinez said.
Homeowner Richard Mathouser will be charged with seven felony counts of neglect — one for each dog. He will also be cited for not having any pet licenses and housing too many dogs inside city limits.
The Dodge County Humane Society was called in to take away the pets. Some went reluctantly; others in the arms of Humane Society staff.
Chief Martinez said the case isn’t just about what they took out of the home but also what they found inside: deplorable conditions.
Police photos show dogs living in squalor. Feces were found throughout the house, and the smell added to the difficult task for officers and Humane Society rescuers.
They found pet food in the house, but Martinez said it seemed to be tossed around the on the floor or the ground.
“There were no kennels or nothing; the dogs could run around wherever they wanted, and pee and poop wherever they wanted. Probably one of the worst house I’ve ever been inside,” he said.
After he was served with the search warrant, 53-year-old Mathouser stood by calmly as the dogs were removed. The pets were loaded into the Humane Society van and taken to get vet care and cleaner living conditions.
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