Welfare check could lead to animal cruelty charges

Thursday, December 14, 2006

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Yeager could face many counts of felony animal cruelty.

When Hillsborough County deputies knocked on the door of a mobile home at the Carosel Mobile Home Park on Falkenburg Road to serve a warrant Thursday, they knew conditions inside would be bad.

Mobile home park resident Esther Bland was watching as they went in.

"They opened the door and the stench was unbearable and I knew there was something dead or whatever in there," said Bland.

Sixteen starving cats were living in layers of their own waste. Deputies were asked to do a welfare check on the man allegedly responsible, Kenneth Yeager, two days ago. They didn't find him, but saw and smelled the cats, and came back Thursday with Hillsborough County Animal Services.

Animal services spokesperson Marti Ryan says she's not sure if Yeager was living in the mobile home.

I can't imagine anyone living in those kinds of conditions but unfortunately we have seen this kind of thing before," said Ryan.

Animal services says all the cats were removed from the home. They are all sick and some are expected to die.

"The conditions were absolutely unbelievable," said Ryan. "No quality of life. Very unsanitary."

All of the cats were ill.

Bland can't believe anyone could treat animals so poorly.

"I just feel bad for them because I'm an animal lover and I hate to see anything get abused like that," said Bland.

Animal services officials say Yeager is probably facing a minimum of 16 counts of felony animal cruelty. The outstanding warrants that Yeager was picked up on were for aggravated stalking and domestic violence.