MARYVILLE, Tenn. — Three people in Maryville are facing animal cruelty charges after authorities said their neglect of a pet pit bull led to its death.
Christian Martinez, Kassandra Martinez and Daniel Hackler Jr. are charged with aggravated animal cruelty and are accused of not taking care of two dogs in their custody.
The Blount County Sheriff's Office said in a report that the President of Blount County's Humane Society contacted law enforcement on May 24 on behalf of a concerned neighbor who told them a dog in the 100-block of Butler Mill Road was emaciated and trapped inside a cage.
A BCSO deputy said they spoke to the neighbor, who showed them where the dog was located. When the deputy found the dog, it was lying inside the cage, not making many movements and was severely underweight with flies all around it.
There was also another dog on the property.
"I attempted to call the dog, however the dog would not move," the deputy wrote in the report.
The neighbor told the BCSO the dogs' owners weren't home a lot and would ignore the dogs when they were at the residence. The neighbor also said the dog's owners wouldn't let it out of the cage and never fed it.
The neighbor told deputies they would come over and give the dog food, however it never ate any of it. The neighbor said there was another dog on the property, also in a cage.
Animal Control was called to remove the severely emaciated dog, however, the dog died at the scene before they were able to take it.
The other dog was taken into custody by authorities.
Animal Control officers suggested the BCSO contact the Blount County Animal Welfare Society about the dogs, as the dogs' owners had been in contact with them previously.
The President of the Blount County Animal Welfare Society was contacted by deputies, and she told them the organization had been out to the property several times before.
During those visits, the group made contact with the dogs' owners and created care plans for the dogs, but those plans weren't followed. The Blount County Animal Welfare Society stopped helping the property owners because the neglect was too severe, and the owners wouldn't let the organization assist them.
Deputies were unable to make contact with the homeowners at the initial visit to the property and returned later that day and were able to arrest Hackler, Christian Martinez and Kassandra Martinez at the scene.
The three told police they were responsible for the welfare of the dogs at the time of the arrest.
