KWCH - Kansas News and Weather - Wichita Man Could Face 96 Counts of Animal Abuse

Wichita Man Could Face 96 Counts of Animal Abuse

By Denise Hnytka (KAY COUNTY, Oklahoma)

He was banned from owning pit bulls in Kansas, so a Wichita man takes the animals across the border.

An anonymous tip leads Kay County, Oklahoma investigators to a farmhouse near Newkirk, where they find a case of animal abuse larger than they know how to handle.

Behind this Kay County farmhouse is something veterinarian Seletha Sanders never expected to see.

"Not this," she said. "It's a little more severe than I anticipated."

A pit bull tied to a chain no more than three feet long, another shivering in the cold and another cowering inside a barrel. Sanders doesn't know the last time any of these dogs were fed or how much longer they could have survived.

"They really need some help," said Sanders. 

One desperate cry seems to speak for all of them. All 96 of them.

"It's sick," said Sanders. "Sick, very nauseating."

96 pit bulls.

Their owner told the Sheriff's office that he breeds the animals for sale.

"But the sales have declined," said Undersheriff Steve Kelley. "Nobody is buying pit bulls, so he's stuck with them."

He says some of these dogs have been here as long as five years. You can tell by how deep the path is that they've worn from running around the same circle for so long.

Investigators document each of their conditions as Sanders carefully examines them.

"A lot of them you can't get close enough to touch," said Sanders. 

There are so many the Sheriff doesn't know what to do with them, because besides their health conditions, re-socializing them is another challenge.

"There are not a lot of homes that will be open to adopting a dog with issues," said Sanders. "Breed is not the issue. It's just that these dogs have some baggage."

The baggage stacks up to possible criminal charges for the owner, most likely 96 of them.

For right now, grocery stores are donating bags of food to feed the dogs. The Sheriff's office is looking for places to house them. They've put in a call to the same animal rescue that took care of dogs in NFL star Michael Vicks's dog-fighting case.

The suspect in the Kay County case is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

You can direct questions about how you can help the dogs by contacting the Kay County Sheriff's office at (580) 362-2517.

Monetary donations are also being accepted. Send checks to:

110 S. Maple

Newkirk, OK 74647

Write "dogs" in the memo line.