UPDATE: Nine dogs and cat removed from home from welfare complaint

CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - Chatham County Animal Services says it removed at least nine dogs and one cat from a home on Red Fox Drive last Friday after a welfare complaint, citing what officers described as “unsafe conditions.”

Animal Services workers wore hazmat suits while removing the animals. A neighbor, Alexander Heier, said he noticed the response outside the home.

“The animal control van was right there and then the cop pulled up and it covered the yellow center line, and we saw, I saw at least seven dogs,” Heier said.

While Heier said he saw a police car, Animal Services said law enforcement was not involved in the case.

Jacob Harper, the director of Chatham County Animal Services, said most of the animals appeared to be in good health, but the conditions they were kept in prompted the removal.

“The dogs are in good health. It was just mostly the conditions they were being kept in,” Harper said. “So the dogs, the cat, had some mild flea allergies stuff but they’re in relatively good health.”

Harper said his agency enforces county ordinances and relies on residents to grant access to private property. He said Animal Services generally needs an owner’s permission to enter a home to check on animals, and in some cases may seek help from law enforcement to obtain warrants.

“If we need assistance from the police department with warrants, things like that, we can go to them for warrants but without that we depend on the citizens to grant us access to different places,” Harper said.

Harper said the animals are being held while the case moves through the required process. He said owners typically have five days to request their animals back, but if citations are issued, the animals can be held until a court process is completed and a judge decides what happens next.

Animal Services has not said whether the owner will face charges or fines under county ordinance. The fate of the animals remains unclear.

The home’s owner declined an on-camera interview. WTOC will continue to follow the story as more information becomes available.