Update (Oct. 22):
DREW COUNTY, Ark. – Grim clean-up work continues at the scene where hundreds of dogs were found dead in containers at a home earlier this month.
The Drew County Sheriff’s Office, the Arkansas Department of Health and the State Department of Environmental Quality have been investigating the case.
“There has been closure, to some extent, of the dog hoarding situation, which left an estimated 500 canine carcasses packed in storage crates behind a local home, and in the nearby woods, on Rose Hill Cut-Off Road,” reports our content partner Monticello Live. “Late last week, Get-Rid-of-It delivered 2 industrial waste dumpsters to the address of one the 2 homes involved.”
Click here to read the full update (WARNING: VERY GRAPHIC PHOTOS).
Original story (Oct. 9):
DREW COUNTY, Ark. – The Drew County Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Health and the State Department of Environmental Quality are investigating after hundreds of dead dogs were found inside containers at a home in Monticello.
“The house had been turned over to the animals like a big human dog house it’s unlivable,”Sheriff Gober said.
The Sheriff’s office said they received phone calls and complaints about dogs running loose and growling at kids.
When they went to the home on Rose Hill Cut-Off Road they found dogs buried inside totes.
Heidi Hogue said she has lived beside the mess for 20 years. She said the dogs were vicious and diseased. Hogue said she has counted over 60 dogs at the home but believes there are much more.
According to documents from the Health Department there were 500 twenty-gallon storage totes with dead dogs in them,behind the house.
In the report, it also states there were dog feces everywhere inside and outside the home.There were numerous dead dogs in decomposing states outside.
Heidi Hogue said she is glad someone is finally doing something to fix the problem.
“Yes, but I mean it’s too late for my little dog who I had for nine years and was like a family member to me. He is dead and then you still got totes over there with dead dogs inside,” Hogue said.
“The house is going to have to be dealt with, those dogs were diseased. They had mange and all kinds of diseases. That ground is going to have to be dug up,”Hogue said.
Hogue said the owner kept the dogs fed and would receive generous donations from people, but they were sick and needed help.
The Sheriff said the totes are in a disclosed location and it will be up to the Department of Environmental Quality to properly dispose them.
The Department of Health said there were 43 live dogs removed from the home. It’s unclear where the dogs were taken.