A Claypool man was arrested after six dogs and five cats were allegedly found in his garage in poor health.
Roy Lee Mullins, 56, of 1895 E. CR 800S, Claypool, is charged with cruelty to an animal, a class A misdemeanor. He was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail at 10:59 a.m. Monday on a $500 preliminary bond.
According to court documents, on July 26 a Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office deputy spoke with a representative of a bank. The representative said she completed an inspection of the Claypool property in preparation of a foreclosure. The inspection included photos of the property and some of those photos of the garage window, which showed cats in a cage. The property had been condemned by the health department because there was no running water.
KCSO had about 18 anonymous calls about the property since Sept. 20, 2023, alleging there were numerous dogs and cats being kept in cages in the garage in filthy conditions. Deputies visited the property twice and did not note any noise coming from the garage.
On Dec. 31, 2023, a deputy talked to Mullins. Mullins said he only had one dog he cares for and denied having any other animals. Mullins also refused to let the deputy into the house.
On April 16, 2024, a representative from the health department and a deputy visited Mullins at the property. Mullins refused to let the deputy onto the property and said he only had one dog.
The deputy noted there was a strong stench of animal feces coming from the house when Mullins opened the door, according to court documents. Again, the deputy noted there was no noise coming from the garage.
The deputy requested a search warrant for the property. On July 29, the search warrant was served. A deputy and members from Code Enforcement and the health department assisted. There was no response from knocking on the door or pounding on the garage door.
They found six dogs and five cats in the garage. There was animal urine and feces on the floor and nearly every surface in the garage, according to court documents. The dogs were in various states of poor health with one with no fur left from a flee infection. That dog and a couple others appeared to be malnourished. The dogs were not aggressive. The cats all appeared to be malnourished with poor coats.
A veterinarian was contacted and the animals were taken to the Animal Welfare League. The AWL reported one of the dogs had to be euthanized to end its suffering after the veterinarian examined the dog. The veterinarian’s report said the case meets the definition of neglect, according to court documents.