An arrest has been made in a three-month-long animal cruelty case. The Winston County Sheriff’s Office reports their investigation into allegations of animal abuse was concluded yesterday afternoon when Mildred McDonald was arrested on ten counts of felony animal cruelty in the first degree.
Sheriff’s Deputies received a tip that McDonald had been hiding at a residence in Adamsville Alabama, and was taken into custody on December 11, 2024. McDonald is currently being held at the Winston County Jail on $100,000 bond.
In late September, the Sheriff’s office was alerted to a situation at a home on Old Clear Creek Road in which McDonald had resided. The property was found to be in an extreme state of neglect with 30 or more animals, mostly dogs, found in and around the residence in varying states of abuse and neglect.
Deputies executed a search warrant on the property to collect evidence, then worked to obtain proper care for the animals.
The greater Birmingham Humane Society assisted deputies in order to address the animals affected. Unfortunately, some of the animals had to be euthanized due to their extreme mistreatment, while the others were taken to shelters in hopes of rehoming.
Sheriff Snoddy says “This is one of the worst cases involving the abuse and neglect of animals that I’ve seen in my career, it is an extremely sad and heartbreaking thing to see, I just can’t seem to find a reason that anyone would want to live like that or allow animals to be in those conditions, the only positive thing that I can see here is that these animals are no longer suffering.”
The Sheriff’s office stated they wanted to offer a huge thank you to the greater Birmingham Humane Society, and said that without their help deputies would not have been able to care for so many animals so quickly and efficiently.