Kennett couple charged with animal neglect

KENNETT, Mo. -- Two Kennett residents have been charged with animal neglect and animal cruelty for allowing a chain be become embedded in their Labrador retriever's neck.

According to a report from the Kennett Police Department, at about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, animal control officer Tena Petix responded to a report of a dog chained up without shelter and that the collar on the dog was too tight at a residence on Leila Drive.

At the home, Petix found a dog that had dug a tunnel in the dirt to stay out of direct sunlight, according to the report, and that was attached to a tree by a chain, which was locked around the dog's neck with two padlocks. Petix said the chain had been on the dog's neck so long that its flesh had begun to grow through the link of chain. The chain had to be cut off the dog's neck because the owners did not have keys to either of the locks, according to the report.

Petix said the dog had no water and its only source of food was a dirty cooler with white beans and maggots inside of it, and its nails were worn down from digging in the "dry, concrete- like dirt."

The dog was taken to the Kennett Veterinary Clinic for care but will be housed by Kennett authorities while it recovers over the next few weeks. Petix said she hopes to put the dog up for adoption after its recovery.

According to Petix, the wounds to the dog's neck required a one-and-a-half-hour surgery to remove pieces of the chain that were embedded in its skin.

The dog's owners, Earl and Sheila Gerrolds, are each being charged with one count of animal neglect and one count of animal cruelty, according to city attorney Terry McVey.

Donations for the dog's care and treatment are being accepted at the Kennett Veterinary Clinic, 1704 St. Francis St.

Pertinent address:

Kennett, Mo.

1704 St. Francis St, Kennett, Mo.