SEQUOYAH COUNTY (KFSM) -- Two people are facing nearly 20 counts each of animal abuse charges after allegedly abandoning their pets for about three weeks, according to Sequoyah County Sheriff Larry Lane.
Ashton Dimick and Morgan McCarley are each facing 17 counts of animal cruelty, according to Lane.
The two were arrested Wednesday (April 4) after deputies found several dead and emaciated animals on their property, Lane said.
Police were dispatched to a home on a county road where they found rabbits and chickens in enclosed areas. Five rabbits and three chickens were dead. Two emaciated potbelly piglets, dogs, snakes, lizards, birds and ducks were also at the home, an arrest report states.
There was no food or water for any of the animals, police said.
Dimick and McCarley told police they got into an argument, and both left the residence and animals behind. He said they abandoned the animals for three weeks, according to police.
Also, Dimick told police there were goats at the residence but he took those to his mother's home and left the other animals behind because they are McCarley's responsibility, the arrest report states.
The animals still alive were taken to a Sallisaw veterinarian clinic.
