- Alabama, USA -
The Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office said that 38-years-old LAMARCUS DEWAYNE RICKS (pictured), of Tuscumbia, is facing seventeen counts of dogfighting and sixty-eight counts of second-degree animal cruelty following a recent investigation into a dogfighting operation.
RICKS turned himself into the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office on Friday, October 28, 2022, and was released on a $119,000 bond.
According to WAAY 31, the sheriff’s office said they had been receiving tips from concerned citizens in Center Star back in early October where they found evidence of animal abuse and neglect. Authorities said they removed sixty-eight dogs from RICKS’ property; seventeen of them were determined to be fighting dogs.
The sixty-eight dogs were transferred to the Florence Lauderdale Animal Services and its director, Cheryl Jones, said it’s a logistical nightmare.
Ms. Jones told WAAY 31 they were already understaffed, overworked, and at a full capacity before this major and unforeseen influx.
“It’s basically increased our workday for an eight-hour workday to a 12-hour workday,” she explained. Ms. Jones went on to say: “Now we have realized that full plus 68 is even more of a struggle. We moved some of our dogs out of the crate in the hallway to make room for the dogs we have to hold in the kennels and set up kennels on our outside fence that’s fenced in.”
This set-up is not an ideal long-term solution for these dogs, rightfully said Ms. Jones. She then pointed out: “Our animals were used to more attention from us that they don’t really get now because we have taken on 60 animals we have to care for.”
The shelter is now relying on the public’s help and Ms. Jones desperately launched an appeal. “Please come and volunteer. There are lots of dogs that would love some attention, more than we have at the moment to give.”
Ms. Jones described the condition the sixty-eight furbabies were in when they arrived at the shelter and said: “Everybody was thin, they were, you know, scared of a new environment. Some of them had injuries, some of them had conditions that we are treating. So, everybody had to be assessed and everybody’s, you know, getting treatment.”
WAAY 31 reports that according to the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office, court procedures will determine the next steps for the animals, whether or not RICKS retains his rights to the dogs.
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