Authorities: Dying goat, starving dogs found in 'house of hell' in Arkansas; 3 arrested

5:20 P.M. WEDNESDAY UPDATE:

Two more people have been arrested on felony animal cruelty charges stemming from a case in which four starving dogs and a dying goat were found at an Arkansas home, authorities say.

Charles Lokey, director of the Texarkana Animal Care and Adoption Center, said Victoria Anderson, 23, and Tyler Green, 21, were arrested at the center about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday and taken to the Miller County jail.

Lokey said Anderson and Green lived at a Texarkana house where four dogs and a goat were starved and neglected with William Evans, 25, who was being held Wednesday at the Miller County jail on the same charges.

The director said all three bounced among several different addresses in the Texarkana area, including one off Miller County Road 8, abandoning the animals when they moved.

TUESDAY STORY:

One person has been arrested after four starving dogs and a dying goat were found at an Arkansas home, authorities say.

The Texarkana Gazette reported that animal control officers reportedly saw two seemingly neglected dogs in the front yard of a Texarkana home Friday and executed a search and seizure warrant.

Officers rescued the two dogs outside and entered the house, which animal services director Charles Lokey described to the newspaper as "a little house of hell."

Inside, officers reportedly found a young, male goat unable to stand, with no food or water available, "wallowing in its own feces and urine," according to Lokey's report cited by the newspaper.

Hearing more animals behind a padlocked door, officers used bolt cutters to gain entry and found two more starving dogs: a black-and-white male pit bull and a white-and-brown female pit bull, the newspaper reported.

The male reportedly had a large, infected wound on its right rear leg "covered with a dirty homemade bandage."

A man identified as one of the home's residents spoke to the Texarkana Gazette and said the animals were all hurt or sick when he took them in — the goat had been struck by a car, and the wounded dog had been shot with a pellet gun.

The goat reportedly died under veterinary care Friday night. The dogs are being treated and expected to recover.

Lokey told an Arkansas Online reporter that William Evans, a 25-year-old resident of the house, was arrested Tuesday morning. He reportedly faces four counts of felony animal cruelty and one count of misdemeanor animal neglect and was being held at the Sevier County jail as of Tuesday afternoon.

Evans, who arrested in De Queen, had an outstanding warrant for a probation violation, Lokey told the Texarkana Gazette. Arrest warrants have also been issued for Victoria Anderson and Tyler Green, the newspaper reported.

Benjamin Miller, a Fort Worth, Texas, real estate investor, owns the house and operates it as a rental property, the newspaper reported. Miller told the Texarkana Gazette that he has asked the current resident to move out, and he plans to either repair the house and re-rent it or demolish it and build a new house.

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