By Joe Johnson
A woman who left behind dogs to starve and die when she abandoned her Athens apartment has been indicted on felony animal cruelty charges.
Kanethia Shantheria Blackwell, 28, allegedly abandoned four dogs at The Flats apartments on Sycamore Drive.
Management at the apartment complex told police that they last saw Blackwell on Jan. 23, when she turned in some money at the office.
On Feb. 16, management filed an eviction notice, and on Feb. 21 the county Animal Services Department called police because they wanted to enter Blackwell’s apartment but first wanted officers to check on an odor of decay in case there was a dead body.
Police said that when officers entered the home they were greeted by three “gentle” starving pit bulls, and discovered that a fourth dog was deceased and showed signs of decay.
“As I moved further into the apartment, the entirety of the residence was covered in blood, feces, and urine,” an officer wrote in an incident report. “From the looks and smell of the apartment and the 3 remaining dogs, the owner abandoned them for at least a month.”
No food or water had been left out for the dogs, the officer observed.
The report did not indicate where the blood might have come from.
Police arrested Blackwell on Feb. 21. and she was released a few days later upon posting a $2,000 bond.
A Clarke County Superior Court grand jury indicted her last Tuesday on four counts of aggravated animal cruelty, and she is scheduled to be arraigned on Sept.17.
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