ELKVIEW, W.Va. (AP) - A Kanawha County woman has been charged after a humane officer reported finding that more than four dozen animals did not have food, water, shelter and adequate medical treatment.
Media outlets report a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Circuit Court charged 25-year-old Melissa Bailes Anderson with animal cruelty.
The complaint accuses Anderson of not properly caring for 17 rabbits, 15 dogs, six guinea pigs, nine birds and two pigs.
A Kanawha Charleston Humane Association officer went to the home last month following a complaint about an emaciated dog. According to the criminal complaint, subsequent visits found Anderson had still not provided the animals with adequate living conditions, and the animals have been seized. She was charged last week.
It wasn’t immediately known whether Anderson has an attorney to comment on the charges.
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