Animals overrun filthy property

This dog was one of 43 animals discovered living in squalid conditions at a residence on Halls Mill Road. Thomas and Brenda Snell have been charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty and child neglect. (Submitted photo by Michael Gregory)

A Unionville couple are facing multiple counts of animal cruelty and child neglect after authorities investigated conditions at a residence on Halls Mill Road late last month.

Thomas and Brenda Snell of 1769 Halls Mill Road made their first court appearance Wednesday on the charges and will appear next in General Sessions Court on Jan. 6.

Thomas Snell faces 11 counts of cruelty to animals and two counts of child neglect, while Brenda Snell faces two counts of child neglect.

The pair are both free on $25,000 bond and are being represented by the public defender's office.

According to Capt. Becky Hord of the Bedford County Sheriff's Department, authorities were tipped off about dead and dying dogs on the property on Nov. 25 and investigated.

Hord stated it is the second time she has been called to the residence about the children's welfare and said the living conditions found in the house were "atrocious."

Multiple animals were discovered in the house, the plumbing was backed up in the bathrooms, with piles of trash, clothing, old food and animal feces littering the home, Hord said.

One room in the home, which Hord said appeared to have never been cleaned, contained 13 exotic birds and a snake.

Four children were living at the home -- two teenagers and two others under age 10 -- and Hord said the conditions "were just unsanitary for the children."

Hord said she was unsure where the children were sleeping in their bedrooms due to the piles of clothes and trash found. The children stayed with a nearby relative until the house could be cleaned up.

"These people ... it's just a way of life for them," Hord said. "They don't see a problem. To them, it (the conditions) just happened yesterday, but it was months and months of living this way."

43 animals taken

This was also the second trip to the Snell residence for Michael Gregory, director of Bedford County Animal Control.

Gregory had been to the home in the summer of 2008 regarding the conditions of the dogs. He said he worked with Thomas Snell with education about caring for the animals, giving him a written warning.

But on the day before Thanksgiving, Gregory arrived at the residence and found three dead dogs, one lying on the ground that appeared to be dying, and others in poor condition.

Gregory said that it appeared none of the dogs had food and the water buckets were filled with a "green algae type growth." He left briefly to retrieve a camera to document what he found and when he returned, the Snells were feeding the dogs after bringing home a 50-pound bag of food. Thomas Snell agreed to Gregory impounding the dogs on the property until they could be removed and also gave permission for local veterinarian Dr. Megan Betzelberger to examine the animals.

But after being fed by the Snells, "very few of the dogs had food present," Gregory said. Entering the home, dogs, cats and various birds were discovered.

"The bird cages and guinea pig cage inside the house were covered in feces as were the bowls in each cage," Gregory wrote in his report. "A snake was also located in the house."

Another 40 pounds of food was provided for the dogs and Snell gave Dr. Betzelberger permission to euthanize the dying dog. Gregory also signed out the 11 warrants for animal cruelty on Thomas Snell.

Returning the next day to feed the animals, Gregory removed the dead dogs and Snell told authorities he wanted to surrender all of the animals except for one dog, the snake and the ducks.

Over the following five days, Gregory returned to the residence to feed and water the animals, as well as worming the puppies found in the house. A deputy would meet Gregory at the Snell home "to make sure there weren't any issues."

Gregory stated in his report that based on the poor condition of the dogs, Snell would have to feed the dogs a 30-pound bag of food per day to maintain their condition. On the fourth visit, Gregory reported that two other dogs had died.

Gregory spoke with the District Attorney's office on Nov. 30, and it was suggested that Snell give custody, but not ownership, of the animals to the county until the court date Wednesday.

Over the next two days, Gregory moved 13 dogs, four puppies, one cat and kitten, a guinea pig, five ducks and 13 exotic birds to the county shelter.

Help for care

Gregory told the Times-Gazette he signed the warrants on Thomas Snell for the 11 animals that had a Body Condition System (BCS) rating of 1 or 2, which according to the Nestlé Purina Pet Care Center, means that the dogs had "ribs, lumbar vertebrae, pelvic bones and all bony prominences evident from a distance" from being underfed.

"It takes a while for a dog to get to a BCS rating of 1 or 2," Gregory explained.

While the dogs did have shelter, there was no food present on the property when authorities first arrived. However, other dogs on the property were in slightly better condition, Gregory said.

But the problem Gregory encountered was that the county had little space for 43 animals and he said this was the biggest case he's dealt with in regards to the number of pets.

"You really can't be prepared to take in that number of animals, plus with the birds, it was completely overwhelming," he said.

The county's animal control department is not set up to handle exotic birds. Gregory contacted PetSmart Charities and just a few hours later, the Murfreesboro PetSmart store was able to donate $1,500 worth of bird care items to the shelter, including cages, feed, even a swimming pool for the ducks.

"If it hadn't been for them, the county would have been in a fix. We could not have absorbed those costs," Gregory said.