Five dogs found starving, one dead
Coleman, FL (US)

Incident Date: Thursday, Aug 28, 2008
County: Sumter

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Michael Bowen

Five dogs that were found so starved -- literally skin and bones -- appear to be back on the road to recovery.

Sheri Evans, an animal cruelty investigator with the Humane Society/SPCA, said Thursday the dogs seem to be responding well to feeding, grooming, proper medicine and veterinarian treatment.

"We hope to have the dogs ready for adoption soon," she said.

Evans it looked like the dogs hadn't been fed in three weeks before the group took them from Michael Bowen's property during their investigation.

The dogs eventually would have died from malnutrition, she said.

Bowen, 28, told investigators in his explanation of the animals' condition that a sixth dog had been sick and spread the illness to the other five.

He was charged Friday [Sept 5, 2008] with five counts of animal cruelty. He has been released from the Sumter County jail on $10,000 bail.

The Sumter County Sheriff's Office last week received a tip about six neglected dogs on Bowen's rural property on County Road 519A in Coleman. One allegedly had died.

Deputies and Evans were sent to investigate. She said after examining the boxers, pit-bull mixes and a cur, Bowen was arrested on the spot.

According to a sheriff's office incident report, the dogs were staggering on their feet and could not stand up on their own with one pit bull being weighed by a heavy chain.

Their ribs and backbones were visible. Evans added the dogs' level of starvation and suffering were so extreme, the veterinarian said their emaciation level was higher than the evaluation scale could record.

The dogs' nails were so long, their feet looked deformed, she said.

Open and infected sores were found on their back, legs and tails -- some the size of quarters. None of the kennels had food dishes, and some water dishes had larva in them.

Evans said in light of the cruelty the dogs allegedly went through, she is surprised at the animal's kind and gentle nature towards those now treating them.

"I am sure that human kindness was a foreign, but nice experience they certainly appreciated after what they have been enduring," she said.

Evans added when officials arrived on the property they could smell the stench of something dead in one kennel, with a shovel lying nearby. They found a sixth dog that was dead and buried, and covered in maggots.

Evans said judging by evidence, the dead dog had been above ground several days before being buried.

Evans said there were no feces in their kennels, suggesting they hadn't been fed in days. She said it looked like the dogs hadn't been fed in three weeks.

Bowen, who used the dogs for hunting, initially said he didn't have the money to buy dog food within the last three days but did bring them scraps from his job.

He said that he had given them penicillin to treat the sickness, which didn't help, but he had never taken them to a veterinarian.

Evans added he eventually said he didn't have time to take care of the animals.

References

• Daily Commercial - Sept 5, 2008

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