Workers rescue starving animals from vacant Essex residence

Anne Berbling, left, and Sikeston Area Humane Society director Lanette Baker found eight puppies under a rural Essex, Mo., house. The puppies, along with six adult animals, were abandoned. (Sacha Champion ~ Dexter Daily Statesman) [Click to enlarge]

ESSEX, Mo. -- Deplorable. Horrendous. Cruel.

Those were a few of the words uttered by a real estate agent, four animal lovers and two Stoddard County Sheriff's Department deputies as they visited a rural Essex home in an effort to save the lives of six abandoned animals Wednesday morning.

On Monday, Poplar Bluff, Mo., real estate agent Tricia Carroll went to a foreclosed-upon property that had been occupied by Ronald L. and Sherry D. Hyten.

"Citi Financial had asked me to list and sell the property [in the 24000 block of] County Road 732 in rural Essex," Carroll said. "When I went out to inspect the property on May 21, that is when I found the animals."

Locked inside the residence were four dogs and two cats, all of which were emaciated and eaten with flies and fleas.

A small female beagle was left locked inside the garage of the home, according to Carroll. All evidence pointed to the dog having had a litter of pups recently; however, Carroll was unable to find them that day.

After contacting the Stoddard County Sheriff's Department and being told there was nothing law enforcement could do about the situation, Carroll contacted the Sikeston Area Humane Society to see if she could find help.

The Humane Society director, Lanette Baker, set to work in planning the rescue of the animals. While Baker was making calls, Carroll bought dog and cat food and returned to the home.

On Wednesday, Carroll, Baker, three volunteers from Sikeston and deputies Rance Braswell and Cody Wheetley entered the home to seize the animals.

Inside, among the trash and food debris, as well as animal feces and urine, rescuers found the female beagle and the medium-sized black and white dog.

The bones of both dogs, including hips and ribs, were clearly defined, and there were several places on both animals that were raw and bloody from parasites.

The male beagle and another dog that had been locked in the residence could not be found Wednesday.

After photographing both dogs, rescuers went back inside to try to find the two cats. After more than half an hour, one of the cats was located among the debris that littered the kitchen.

But the job for the rescuers was still not done. A suspected litter of puppies belonging to the female beagle still needed to be found.

After searching the residence, Baker and her volunteers began to look outside of the home and found a small crawl space leading under the residence.

"There are puppies under here," called Baker as she looked under the house with a flashlight. She crawled under the house and handed out eight puppies, believed to be less than 10 days old, in good condition.

"It is a miracle that they are all alive and look in such good shape," Baker said. "They appear to be hungry, though."

Rescuers took care to fully document the living conditions in the home as well as the animals' conditions. Braswell and Wheetley said they would file a report and place pictures taken by rescuers into evidence. That report will then be forwarded to Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Briney Welborn, who has stated that he will review the case to see if charges can be filed.

Volunteers have agreed to house the one cat that was found, and Baker believes that she has foster homes for both the beagle and the medium-sized black-and-white dog.

However, Baker said that more foster homes may be needed for the eight puppies.

Anyone interested in offering their efforts may contact Baker at the Sikeston Area Humane Society at (573) 471-4801.