A Prairie Grove woman was arrested on charges of cruelty to animals after more than 40 dogs, cats and rabbits were taken from her home.
Rachael Parrish, 38, of 15312 Malico Mountain Road was arrested Monday on three counts of aggravated animal cruelty, a felony; 20 counts of cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor; and theft of property. Parrish was being held Tuesday in the Washington County jail in lieu of $1,500 bond.
The county's animal control officer, Lori Widder, was called to the Malico Mountain residence on Dec. 16, according to a report from the Washington County sheriff's office. Widder said she smelled urine and feces coming from inside the house and heard several dogs barking, according to the report.
Widder said a man who answered the door gave her permission to look inside and, after seeing the conditions in the house, she called a sheriff's deputy. The deputy went to the house with Widder the next day and detailed the condition of two dogs tied up outside on a short chain and another dog and a goat in pens outside the house.
Inside the house, the deputy said there were no water or food bowls and "the house stunk of filth like feces, urine and trash," according to the report. Several dogs inside the house were underweight, and some had hair loss.
The deputy went to the Washington County animal shelter on Dec. 18 and discussed making room for some of the dogs at the shelter. The officer said a veterinarian who does surgery for the shelter said Parrish had taken two dogs to his clinic on Dec. 9 and 10 and both had died. The veterinarian said both had died from lack of water, according to the report.
Tammy Harp, office manager, said the shelter took in 34 dogs and eight cats from the Parrish property. Harp said the animals will be cared for at the shelter until a court decides what can be done with them.
Carmen Nelson, director of the Animal League of Washington County, said the conditions at the Parrish house were "deplorable." Nelson, who said she has been active in animal rescue work for more than 20 years, said this is one of the worst situations she has seen.
"Most situations like this are bad," she said. "This is up there at the top tier of bad."
Nelson said the animals were underweight and dehydrated, with several also having skin problems. She said ribs were showing and hips protruding on several dogs.
"It takes a period of time to lose that much weight," she said.
Nelson said the league will help find homes for them if the animals are made available for adoption by a court, but anyone interested in adopting any of the animals should contact the county shelter to fill out an application.
Travis Parrish, Rachael Parrish's husband, was arrested on a firearms charge after the deputies learned he was a felon and found unsecured weapons in the home. Travis Parrish was in jail in lieu of a $1,500 bond.
Metro on 12/26/2019