Kentucky Animal Cruelty: 100 Dogs, Cats Found Living In Poor Conditions At Shelter, Many May Be Euthanized

In a case of animal cruelty in Elliott County, Kentucky, over 100 dogs were seized from a shelter after they were found living in poor conditions.

After receiving several reports of animal cruelty, the Kentucky State Police troopers executed a search warrant at the Trixie Foundation Animal Shelter on Saturday (May 2) and found many dogs and cats living in poor conditions. Local reports stated that a total of 104 dogs and four cats, that were receiving improper care, were rescued from the animal shelter.

Calling this the worst thing she had even seen, Penny Menz, who volunteered in rescuing the animals, said, “There was a dog that they had to call the vet for immediately. She had to be euthanized. She was lifeless but still breathing.”

Many other animals were found with severe health problems including large tumors on their bodies and severe eye infections. Menz believes that many more dogs may be put down after their conditions are assessed by the vet.

“They’re suffering and we need to put them down,” Menz said.

Speaking about one of the dogs, animal advocate Julia Sharp said, "She is beyond filthy, she is matted, she has advanced, advanced dental disease, it looks like her jaw is literally rotting out, she is blind and she is deaf, and she is caked with mud, so this little one was been laying there, waiting to die.”

Meanwhile, the founder of the foundation, identified as 68-year-old Randy Skaggs, was being cited with 12 counts of improperly disposing of dead animals. He will face additional charges once the results of veterinarian records are out.

"Justice would be him in jail for the rest of his life," Sharp said.

Jenny Jones, who runs a Facebook page called “STOP The Trixie Foundation aka The Gulag,” said they were currently looking for veterinarians to volunteer to evaluate the animals.

“The quicker we can get them assessed, the quicker they can go to foster homes because they can't leave here until we've documented everything that's wrong with every single dog,” Jones said, adding that anybody willing to volunteer or donate supplies can contact them through Facebook.