Starving Dogs Found Eating Each Other Inside Cage, Owner Arrested

A Florida man was arrested Sunday, after officers found that his dogs were so starved that they were eating one another.

Officers responded to an animal complaint and reached 54-year-old Genar Smith’s home where they found five pit-bulls that were "deprived of sustenance." Three of the dogs were placed in a medium-sized cage and one was in a large cage. Two other dogs were chained to the ground,

One of the dogs in the medium-sized cage was found dead with most of its skull and neck eaten by the other two dogs in the cage. One of the other two dogs also had part of its tail bitten off.

Police said all dogs were "considerably malnourished" due to excessive hunger and their rib cages and hip bones were clearly visible.

One of the officers noticed that neither was there water or food in any of the bowls nor was a overhead cover to protect the dogs.

Officers arrested the owner who told them that he fed the dogs regularly and that they also had water every day. He, however, admitted to have never taken the pit bulls to a veterinarian.

When asked about the dead dog, the owner said the animal had died of parvo, a contagious virus, the previous night.

However, the animal control officers who were present at the scene told police that they believe the other two dogs in the cage ate the dog.

Lakeland Police Spokesperson Gary Gross said, "All of the dogs that the officers saw appeared to be starving. Animal control showed up and also confirmed that as well.”

"This is one of the worst in a long time that we’ve had. Anybody hates to see a dog that is starved but then you have two dogs feeding off another it’s shocking,” he added, WFLA reported.

While the owner was charged with animal cruelty, the five dogs were taken to Animal Control. Parvo virus tests were done on them and none of the five dogs tested positive.

In a similar incident last month, a Great Dane dog that was forced to chew off his own foot to survive was rescued by an animal shelter in South Carolina. Noah's Arks Rescue reached the home after a neighbor informed that a “very skinny” dog had chewed its own leg off ,after getting stuck in a runner cable. The officer saw the six-year-old dog, Luke, tied to a metal pole with no water or food around it. The owners were charged with animal cruelty.

“He is so starved that it is hard to believe he has the strength to take two steps. He looks like a dog that is not going to live past the end of the day. His eyes are sunken into the back of his eye socket. His nasal cavity and eyes are infected and drain constantly. I have seen a lot of sick dogs but what has happened to Luke is beyond inhumane,” the animal shelter posted on Facebook.