A dog taken to a vet extremely underweight alerts authorities to a startling discovery at an Omaha home.
Earlier in December, the Nebraska Humane Society seized 12 Pitbull mixes that were starving, living in poor conditions, and dehydrated at a home near 48th & Bedford Ave. Court documents say a veterinarian contacted NHS when she saw a dog named Zeus who was underweight, anemic, depressed and unable to stand. The dog weighed just 20lbs. and the vet said the ideal weight is above 35lbs.
When the humane society was able to get a search warrant Zeus wasn't at the home, but the other 12 dogs were.
"We believe it's connected the dog looks identical to them, same breed, same color, but we were pretty alarmed to find pretty horrible living conditions for the other dogs at the house. Additionally a lot of them were also emaciated, dehydrated, in need of veterinary assistance," said Kelli Brown, NHS Director of Field Operations.
NHS cited Larry Smith with 13 counts of animal cruelty, and Yolanda Dupree is cited with 12 counts of animal cruelty. Smith told investigators that Zeus was owned by a friend who lived out of state but couldn't tell them who it was.
The humane society says the animals have been improving, and the only thing wrong with them was that they weren't being fed.
"Since we brought the dogs here they've already put on a lot of weight and are looking a lot better," Brown explained.
The humane society says the dogs are currently being held as they go through the court process. If awarded to NHS they will adopt them out after that.
