Warning: Graphic content
The ex-wife of Martin Luther King Jr's assassin James Earl Ray has been charged with 44 counts of animal cruelty. What was about to be a regular welfare check at her home in Tennessee yielded horrific discoveries. More than three dozen dogs were found living in the home, drenched in their own filth, according to authorities.
Animal cruelty incidents are unfortunately not rare in the country and around the world. Last week, it was reported that a man in Chongqing, China, kicked a stray dog who in turn returned with a bunch of his friends to trash the man's car. Earlier this year David Fritsch Jr faced animal abuse charges after he let two dogs in his care starve to death. Reports suggested the animals were hungry to a point that they ate furniture and their own feces before dying. In April, Tennessee linebacker Aaron Beasley was suspended for allegedly brutally abusing a kitten and locking it in the toilet bowl.
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Police forces in Jackson, Tennessee, raided the dilapidated property owned by Anna Sandhu Ray, 74, on Monday, June 21, and found 44 dogs living in pathetic conditions. The animals were found living on piles of garbage and their own feces that thickly lined the floor. Some of the dogs were found locked in cramped cages, according to the national nonprofit Animal Rescue Corps. Sandhu had a history of animal neglect and during the recent welfare check, authorities found clear violations of state and local safety and animal cruelty codes.
Small dogs including newborn litters were found roaming loose in the house which was strewn with garbage, piled in animal feces and soaked in urine. Authorities also found three dead dogs in the house. The house reeked of animal waste and the stench due to dangerously high levels of ammonia was detectable from outside the home. Sandhu was arrested and taken to jail. The authorities then reached out to Animal Rescue Corps, a national animal protection nonprofit that specializes in large-scale animal cruelty cases.
Many of the dogs on the property exhibited signs of severe, chronic neglect, including emaciation, starvation, mange, dehydration, intestinal worms, external parasites, runny eyes, and alopecia. None of them had any access to food or water. “The conditions on this property are some of the worst we’ve seen. It’s absolutely horrible. These poor animals have endured extreme suffering," said Amy Haverstick, ARC’s Director of Operations.
All the animals on the property were documented and transported to ARC's Rescue Operation Center in Lebanon, Tennessee. Each animal will receive a thorough veterinary exam, appropriate vaccinations, and any necessary medical treatment. ARC will care for all of them till they are transported to shelters that will help adopt them into loving homes. For those who wish to foster or adopt, ARC will publish its list of shelter and rescue partners on its Facebook page once the dogs are transferred to the said groups.
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