LENOX TOWNSHIP (WWJ) – A 60-year-old Macomb County man has been arraigned on charges of animal abandonment and cruelty after deputies discovered a hoard of animals — both dead and alive — in his frigid home.
Macomb County Sheriff’s Lt. John Michalke said concerned neighbors called authorities out to the home, in the 63000-block of Gratiot in Lenox Township, complaining there were animals in and around the house that were not being cared for.
When deputies arrived, Michalke said, what they found was shocking.
“There was no heat, no electricity, no running water,” Michalke told WWJ Newsradio 950. “The found deceased animals, dead cats — I think four dead cats. The home was strewn with garbage and animal waste.”
Skeletal remains of what’s believed to be a dog were also discovered in an upstairs bedroom, officials said.
A live horse, a goat (previously reported to be a sheep), a German Shepherd and seven cats were removed from the property.
The homeowner, identified as Robert Denys, told deputies that there hadn’t been heat in the home for “well over a month”. He said that he was aware of the dead animals inside the home, and that the ground was frozen preventing him from burying the carcasses.
Denys was released on a $10,000 cash/surety bond and s due back in 42nd District Court for a hearing March 4. If convicted, he could serve up to four years in jail.
Meantime, the Macomb County Animal Division is caring for all the pets taken from the home.
Chief Animal Control Officer Jeff Randazzo said all the cats are “very sick” suffering from upper respiratory infections and dehydration.
They are expected to recover, but a horse and goat taken from the property might not make it.
“The horse and goat actually had no food and had frozen water, so they weren’t…weathering too well,” Randazzo said. “We’re trying our best, working with the best. We’re definitely giving it our all.”
The dog, Randazzo said, was found outside in the cold, but is doing just fine.
