STONE COUNTY, Mo. — A Galena man has been charged with 29 counts of animal abuse after 29 dogs were found dead and 55 more were rescued from his property.
John Maxwell Griffiths, 34, was arrested by the Stone County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) after deputies responded to reports of neglected animals.
According to a probable cause statement, deputies saw a group of dogs fighting over the remains of a dead dog and several more dogs that were restrained without access to food or water. The animals’ shelter was inadequate with temperatures that had been well below freezing.
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SCSO requested assistance from the Humane Society of Missouri’s (HSMO) Animal Cruelty Task Force, which recovered a total of 55 malnourished dogs. Griffiths surrendered custody of the dogs.
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Courtesy of the Humane Society of Missouri -
Courtesy of the Humane Society of Missouri
In addition to the dead dogs, the task force also discovered other dead animals, including five goats, a cat and two birds. HSMO said it was unclear whether the animals died of starvation or froze to death.