Trending

‘I’m sorry for what you’re going to see’: Tennessee man accused of animal cruelty

HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee man is accused of animal cruelty after nine dogs were found inside a home in “deplorable conditions” that included the corpses of other dogs, authorities said.

>> Read more trending news

David Hendrix, 57, of Hendersonville, was charged with nine counts of aggravated animal cruelty, according to a news release from the Hendersonville Police Department.

According to an affidavit, a neighbor complained to the city codes department about a home infested with large rats, overgrown shrubbery and a foul odor, WKRN-TV reported.

When a codes officer arrived at the home, Hendrix told him there were approximately 10 dogs inside the home and that some of them might be dead.

“I’m sorry for what you’re going to see,” Hendrix told the codes officer, according to the affidavit.

Police executed a search warrant and detectives called a veterinarian and the Animal Rescue Corps to intervene, WZTV reported.

Nine dogs were rescued and placed with the Animal Rescue Corps for aid, recovery and future placement.

According to WKRN, Hendersonville police detectives asked Hendrix why he did not assist the dogs that might have been dying, but he said he could not reach them because of the other dogs.

Hendrix told detectives that he fed the dogs through “a crack in the door,” and that no one had lived in the home for “four or five years,” according to the affidavit.

“I’ve been in this job 18 years, and this is probably one of the worst conditions I’ve ever seen,” Lt. Jimmy Garrett of the Hendersonville Police Department told WKRN.

“Even if you don’t have animals, you’d just be horrified at the state of the place, and it makes you wonder what causes somebody to just completely neglect the whole thing and their animals,” Dana Ziegler, a neighbor, told the television station.

Hendrix was booked into the Sumner County jail on Thursday, where he later posted bail, according to court records.