At times, some parents are unable to care for their children. And this not only results in a toxic environment mentally but also physically. Keep reading to know more about what happened which made even the most seasoned expert feel sick…
A pair of parents in the USA are suspected of multiple crimes after leaving their 14-year-old son to live with nearly 80 animals. The house lacked running water, and the living conditions inside were described as “shocking.”
It was on August 14, 2023, that the police and social services went to the address where the 14-year-old was living in Pennsylvania, USA.
They had received a tip from an animal rights group that had observed several animals outside the house and testified that the facade was covered in feces and emitted a terrible stench. When the authorities entered the house, they were met with total shock. In the house, there was a 14-year-old boy, but he was not living alone. Inside the house, they found 77 pets – many of which were sick and malnourished.
They found animals; both dead and alive. Local authorities took custody of 46 dogs and 26 cats, as well as several other animals. They had to be treated for fleas, worms, and numerous other health issues. Some of the animals lived in cages inside bedrooms and barely had access to food.
On the property, they also found a dead dog, a dead bird, a dead snake, and four dead chickens…
Social services described the house as “totally uninhabitable for humans, let alone a child.” “The house was covered in feces and urine. Animals in cages locked in bedrooms. There was a deceased dog in the bathroom, dead chickens in an outdoor enclosure – it was a tough day,” Jenn Johnson of the “Ninth Life Rescue Center” told HuffPost.
The boy lived in the midst of all this misery inside the house. It lacked running water, and the circumstances were deplorable. There was feces and urine everywhere. And in the midst of the disgusting home lived a 14-year-old boy, whose clothes also reeked.
“The ammonia smell was so strong that it actually burned the inside of my nostrils and my eyes. The specific conditions inside the residence were the worst I have experienced in my 15 years as a police officer and over 20 years as a rescue worker,” said police officer Robert Broome to CBS News.
A neighbor, who also made a report, said the house had never looked like a happy home. “It has always been pretty dismal conditions. They often left animals they had outdoors, in these types of circumstances with below-freezing temperatures, short leashes, no water, no bedding,” he said.
The parents were suspected of crimes when the police contacted the 14-year-old’s 59-year-old mother. She told authorities she was at work and refused to go out to the house. She also stated that she and her 52-year-old husband, who lives in another district, were in charge of the animals.
The boy in the house has been taken into custody by the authorities, and the parents are suspected of neglecting him. They are also suspected of multiple cases of animal cruelty.
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What a relief that authorities intervened. This is such a heartwrenching case. We are sending her love.