TARGET PETITION: Middleborough Police Department
Six horses were so malnourished and starved they were allegedly reduced to eating the boards of their stable at a Massachusetts property, according to a witness and reported by Boston 25 News. Inside the now condemned home, officers also found 17 dogs living in their own feces and urine.
With no access to food or water, the dogs were living in filthy cages and kennels in the basement when they were discovered by authorities. It is unclear how long they may have gone without food or water. One of the dogs was in such poor condition that emergency medical care was necessary.
“In the two years I’ve been here, this is the worst,” said Animal Control Officer Kevin Racicot at a press conference discussing the conditions the animals were found in, per local WCVB 5. “They were in cages and dog kennels, with urine and feces inside the kennels. Without food, without water.”
One of the horses bore horseshoe imprints on their body, reported a concerned neighbor who witnessed the horses’ tragic living conditions.
“It’s so heart-wrenching,” the neighbor told WCVB 5. “They were eating through the boards that were keeping them separated.”
Two cats, a guinea pig, and a turtle were also found fending for themselves inside the filthy house.
Companion animals deserve to be cared for and fed. For an animal to be forced to live in their own urine and feces — or to be left so desperate for nourishment that they attempt to eat their shelter — is deplorable.
No charges have yet been filed in this case.
Sign our petition urging Middleborough Police Department to treat this case with the severity it demands by using all the resources necessary to identify and apprehend the person(s) responsible for these animals’ misery — before they have a chance to harm another defenseless animal.