A North Carolina man has been charged with elder abuse and 20 counts of animal cruelty after an elderly woman was found in an "uninhabitable" residence along with more than 40 "feral" wolf-hybrid dogs believed to have injured her.
The Davidson County Sheriff's Office said deputies began an investigation this month into suspected animal cruelty and elder abuse in the Denton area. Following interviews and medical evaluations, investigators learned an elderly woman was living with more than 40 wolf-hybrid dogs and sustained injuries that led to a welfare check.
"Deputies found the inside and the outside conditions of the residence to be uninhabitable for people and dogs," the sheriff's office said in a statement Wednesday.
The dogs were "not social" and "later determined to be feral," the sheriff's office said.
"After lots of consultations with medical professionals and veterinarian staff the animals," authorities obtained an order from a Superior Court Judge to have all the dogs euthanized.
The euthanizations were necessary to "protect public safety as well as the safety of surrounding pets in the area, due to the diseases that these dogs were exposed to and carrying," the sheriff's office said.
On Wednesday, deputies arrested Melvin "Sonny" Berry on one count of felony domestic elderly abuse/neglect with serious injuries, one misdemeanor local ordinance charge, and 20 misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. Berry is scheduled to appear in Lexington District Court on July 23.
the sheriff's office is asking anyone with information about the case to contact contact Deputy C. Soles at the Davidson County Sheriff's Office Animal Control Division at 336-242-2105.
Welfare check leads to arrest as over 40 'feral' wolf-dogs live with elderly woman, deputies say | Click on the image to read the full story https://t.co/nWcTPUEzVz
— WYFF News 4 (@wyffnews4) June 28, 2024
--with reporting by TMX
