At least 40 dogs found dead, dying at shelter

Now why is Kentucky different than Nova Scotia? Why are charges filed already? Why is this shelter different than the shelter here in Nova Scotia?

At least 40 dogs found dead, dying at shelter
DISEASE, WOUNDS, STARVATION REPORTED
Police raided an animal shelter in rural Jackson County on Tuesday, finding more than 115 dogs in horrific conditions -- at least 40 of them dead or dying.

Officers said the dogs suffered all manner of abuse, including starvation, untreated disease and wounds inflicted by other dogs.

"There were a couple of small puppies that just fell over dead while we were standing there. I think I'm gonna have nightmares about this," said Greg Hayes, Jackson County emergency management director.

"There were sick dogs, dogs eating dead dogs, dogs dead and frozen in bags in the freezer in the basement," Hayes said. "It was indescribable. I've never seen anything like it in my life."

Jackson County Sheriff Ted Fee said he charged Timothy Foust, 32, and Shawn Embs, 18, with 117 counts each of animal cruelty. They were taken to the Jackson County jail and held on $10,000 cash bonds. Fee said he plans to charge Foust's wife, Aimee Robbins-Foust, on the same counts, but she was at the hospital Tuesday with a sick child, so she will be allowed to surrender to police.

The shelter -- actually a house with outside kennels in Sand Springs north of McKee -- is known as Animal Assist. Aimee Robbins-Foust and two other women established the shelter in December, according to state records. On its Web site, Animal Assist claims to be staffed by volunteers and funded by donations, which it solicited online.

Many of Animal Assist's dogs were taken from other shelters shortly before they were scheduled to be euthanized, according to the Web site.

"If you don't find your perfect match at your local shelter, know that adopting or rescuing animals from Animal Assist makes room for us to take in other abandoned shelter pets who didn't find their right fit in five to seven days," the Web site states.

By Tuesday night, officials said they had retrieved about 75 living dogs from the shelter and would deal with about 40 dead dogs. The living dogs were taken to Gray Hawk Veterinary Clinic, also in Jackson County, for medical attention and temporary holding space.

"They're going to need a lot of dog food and monetary donations, and of course, people to adopt some of these dogs once they're checked out as healthy," said Shelley Thompson, a vet clinic customer who volunteered to answer the phone Tuesday while the besieged staff handled the new arrivals.

Fee said he got a tip that dogs were abused at the shelter. By the end of the day, he and his deputies had been joined by Kentucky State Police, Jackson County constables, the McKee Fire Department and the Jackson County Board of Health, among other agencies. Some officers donned hazardous-material suits before they went into the basement, which was full of filth, feces, murky liquid and more than a dozen dogs.

Fee said he has plenty of questions for Embs and the Fousts about the shelter and how it went so terribly wrong. For one thing, he said, nobody has been able to produce a kennel license. But so far the sheriff's attention has been focused on recovering and moving dogs.

"I guess they had intentions of doing something right, but in my opinion, they wound up with more than they could care for," Fee said. "They just didn't have the money or the space they needed. It just went bad, really bad."


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117 starving, diseased dogs found in shelter raidOfficial in Kentucky: ‘I think I'm gonna have nightmares about this’

SAND SPRINGS, Ky. - Police found 117 starving and diseased dogs — including about 40 that were dead or dying — during a raid at an eastern Kentucky animal shelter.

Some officers donned hazardous-material suits Tuesday before they went into the basement, which was full of filth, feces, murky liquid and more than a dozen dogs.

"There were a couple of small puppies that just fell over dead while we were standing there. I think I'm gonna have nightmares about this," said Greg Hayes, Jackson County emergency management director.

Officials said they retrieved about 75 living dogs from the shelter and would deal with about 40 dead dogs. The living dogs were taken to a veterinary clinic in Jackson County for medical attention and temporary holding space.

Timothy Foust, 32, and Shawn Embs, 18, were each charged with 117 counts of animal cruelty. It was not clear whether the men had attorneys. The Jackson County Jail did not immediately return a message to The Associated Press.

Jackson County Sheriff Ted Fee said he plans to charge Foust's wife, Aimee Robbins-Foust, on the same counts.

Fee said no one associated with the Animal Assist facility in Sand Springs has been able to produce a kennel license. Robbins-Foust and two other women set up the shelter in December, state records show.

"I guess they had intentions of doing something right, but in my opinion, they wound up with more than they could care for," Fee said. "They just didn't have the money or the space they needed. It just went bad, really bad."