Neighbors are concerned about a number of dogs roaming free at a vacant residence on Benton Road in Carlton.
They say the property, a 1.7-acre lot with a mobile home, has been abandoned since June 26, when the resident, who had been evicted, was hospitalized, leaving anywhere from 2-20 dogs unattended.
“They killed two of my chickens and they were chasing one of the neighbor’s horses this morning,” said James Bennett, who lives about a half-mile from the property. “It’s almost getting out of hand.”
Bennett told The Oglethorpe Echo that he met with a deputy from the Sheriff’s Office and “several neighbors” at 2 p.m. Monday at the intersection of Benton Road and Eades Road about the issue, and was told the “(the Sheriff’s Office’s) hands are tied.”
Sheriff David Gabriel said later that afternoon that “we’re not showing where we received any complaints about dogs at that location.”
Code Compliance Officer Jeff Sharp said he had heard about the dogs and visited the property, but there was little he could do.
“Because I’m a county official,” he said, “I have nowhere to take the dogs. (Madison Oglethorpe Animal Shelter) won’t take them from a county official.”
Chapter 4 of the Oglethorpe County Code of Ordinances allows for Sharp, Gabriel and his deputies to impound the dogs, but does not require them to do so.
Sharp said there were six dogs when he went to the property.
“There was one dog that was a little aggressive,” he said. “But the rest of them, I got out of the truck and petted them.”
Bennett said he also visited the property, where he saw dead animals on the floor of the mobile home.
“If you just pull up in there, you’re going to see the damage,” he said. “I got out with a big stick, and I walked up to the trailer. One of (the dogs) looked like he was fixing to run after me. Then, he turned and went the other way, and so did I. I didn’t want anything else to do with them.”
Bennett added that he had never met the man who most recently lived in the mobile home, but that the man “collected a bunch of dogs” the past two or three years.
The property is owned by Somma Investments Inc., a company based in Key Biscayne, Florida, that owns 17 other properties in Oglethorpe County.
Two tan dogs were visible at the mobile home on Monday. They followed a vehicle up a long driveway and growled and barked before retreating into the woods.
The lawn and driveway were littered with trash and the door to the mobile home was open. Inside, the floor was covered in what appeared to be dog feces, the oven was detached from the wall, and bags and cushions appeared to have been torn apart.
“I instructed the local residents out there — there was one lady feeding them — I said, ‘Look, if you can catch these dogs and get them to MOAS yourself, they will take them from you,’ ” Sharp said. “That’s kind of where I left it.”
Leslie Benton, who lives on Benton Road, said Tuesday she has fed the dogs about 80 pounds of food since the owner has been gone.
“I’m just trying to keep them going,” she said. “I thought sooner or later they would be picked up. I’m afraid now that nothing is going to be done. I’m afraid the people that own the property are going to kill them.”
This incident comes after a judge dismissed Arnoldsville resident Fern Williams’ writ of mandamus against the Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners earlier this month.
The writ, filed in May, called for the BOC to construct a dog impoundment facility and strengthen its animal control policies, among other things.
“You can’t just leave animals to their own devices and expect them to behave like good citizens,” Williams said.