A Jefferson County woman is facing multiple charges after a staggering number of dogs in dire conditions were recovered from her property. Paula Whitt, 58, was arrested and charged with 55 counts of aggravated animal cruelty when deputies from Jefferson County Sheriff's Office discovered 63 dogs at her residence in Dandridge on Monday morning, according to a report by WATE.
The law enforcement officials, alongside the Animal Control and Criminal Investigation Division, arrived at Whitt's home around 9:45 a.m, following up on an earlier visit by Animal Control officers on the previous Friday. The residence, cited as the location of “A Life 2go2 Rescue”, a nonprofit for animal care and boarding, was the stage for these unfortunate discoveries, with Whitt taken into custody and held at the Jefferson County Detention Center, as reported by WBIR.
In response to the scene, Companion Animal Rescue and Education (CARE) was also on the site and worked into the evening to assume the care of the dogs, undertaking what law enforcement described as an "enormous" task, completing the transfer of the final dog at around 8:30 p.m. The director of CARE, Mindy Hutcheson, described the dogs as living in "deplorable conditions". In a statement obtained by WATE, she said, "The conditions were horrible. We went through a trailer that was stacked too high all the way through, not air-conditioned, not a single bowl of water in any of those crates."
CARE, grappling with the care requirements and their own limitations in capacity and funds, is actively seeking assistance for the dogs that, according to Hutcheson, "are in really rough shape." The shelter witnessed a demanding event upon the rescue, having dogs lost to a thirst so elemental, as every dog they carefully brought out "stopped at water and just guzzled it down," as told by Hutcheson to WATE.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office indicated that the investigation remains active, with no further details on the status of the animals or additional charges provided at this time. More information will likely surface as authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding "A Life 2go2 Rescue" and the unfortunate plight of the dogs involved, as noted by WVLT.
