9 dead dogs found in freezer, in fridge and rotting on floor of Columbia County home
GROVETOWN, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A woman was arrested after nine dead dogs – including several in a freezer and a refrigerator – were found at a Columbia County house, along with one starving dog that had chewed through the walls in its desperation.
Columbia County Sheriff’s Office deputies made the gruesome discovery after being called around 6:45 p.m. Thursday to a home at 2064 Magnolia Parkway in the Grovetown area.
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A neighbor ed authorities saying she hadn’t seen the resident or her car at the home since October. The neighbor gave the deputy a phone number for the resident, identified as Margaret Nevils, 41, but it went to voicemail.
A deputy went to the home and was able to see through two windows because the blinds were raised.
The deputy noticed the floor was covered in animal feces and the furniture was destroyed.
A small, emaciated pit bull terrier ran from the back of the residence to the window, according to the deputy, who didn’t receive any answer when ringing the doorbell or knocking on the door.
Through a window, the deputy could see that the walls had holes chewed through them, including one through the kitchen wall to the garage.
The deputy forced entry into the back-door glass window and unlocked the door.
An animal services employee removed the pit bull and deputies went into the home, where they found blood seeping from a freezer attached to the refrigerator.
“I opened the fridge door, which you had to open to get into the freezer, and noticed a black trash bag inside with an animal foot sticking out of the bag,” the deputy wrote in a report. “There were multiple bags in the fridge and freezer which contained dog carcasses.”
In total, three dog carcasses were found in the refrigerator and three in the freezer.
In the master bedroom, deputies found three dead dogs on the floor in various stages of decomposition.
In the spare bedroom, there were multiple empty dog cages with another piece of furniture that was also shredded.
Nevils was arrested Friday on a charge of cruelty to animals, according to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
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