Cops walked into this Florida home and smelled ammonia. Then they took a look around
Florida deputies encountered a shocking scene last Wednesday evening at a home Beverly Hills, about a half-hour drive south from Ocala.
The officers were responding to an animal cruelty complaint, according to a Facebook post from the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office.
Right when they walked through the door, sheriff’s personnel were “overwhelmed by the pungent smell of ammonia,” according to a statement.
WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
The home was full of several cages and aquariums containing snakes and rodents. Deputies also saw rats and cats “running freely.” A juvenile was also living there.
As deputies moved through the space, they were “taken aback by the other deplorable conditions.”
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Video accompanying the post shows the home in a state of disrepair, with aquariums stacked on top of one another, along with garbage, filthy walls, dirty dishes, grime and rotten food.
“It was blatantly obvious; these animals were deprived of all their basic necessities,” says the FB post. “The buildup of fecal matter and urine in the house and cages caused an infestation of flies, roaches and other bugs.”
In one of the bedrooms deputies found two more litter-filled cages, one containing a ferret and another “entirely too small” one, with a dog inside.
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In another bedroom, more trash “creating a habitat for insects, where even the mattress was covered with roaches,” says the post, adding that blood was observed on the floor “created by the loose cats eating a rat.”
In yet another bedroom, they encountered the juvenile who was surrounded by “approximately 50 rodents in cages.”
In all, CCSO animal control officers counted more than 300 rodents in the house and removed seven cats, one dog and a ferret. The house was secured for investigation and the removal of the remaining critters.
The homeowner, 38-year-old Shannon Marie Morgan, was arrested on 12 counts of animal cruelty and one count of child neglect. Her relationship to the juvenile, whose age was not listed, is not clear. Bond was set at $26,000.
“Abuse of any kind should not be tolerated,” said Citrus Sheriff Mike Prendergast, who urged the public to report signs of neglect and abuse to a Citrus County Sheriff’s Communications Center at 352-249-2790 or by dialing 911.
