Homeless woman: Starving dogs were taken care of

Posted at: 11/15/2011 11:05 PM | Updated at: 11/15/2011 11:30 PM
By: Eddie Garcia, KOB Eyewitness News 4

KOB Eyewitness News 4 is hearing from a dog owner accused of trapping her animals in her house without food or water.

Last week KOB aired photos of the starving dogs and the deplorable conditions they were living in.

The photos show dog feces, dried up urine and trash everywhere in the foreclosed house located near Juan Tabo Boulevard and Candelaria Road NE.

The city said it appears two dogs trapped there for more than a month.

The deed is registered John Williams who also goes by Vanessa Gutierrez.

Guiterrez called KOB saying after losing her job and about everything else - she had no choice but to keep the dogs at the house.

"I had no place to stay, I couldn't stay with my friends because of the dogs so I took the dogs there where they'd be safe and I was out here on the street," Gutierrez said.

She claims the dogs were living in better conditions than she was while on the streets.

"They hadn't even been there two or three days, I was going everyday taking them food, water - hanging out with them for a little while," Gutierrez said.

Assistant City Attorney Greg Wheeler said that is not true and the evidence proves it.

"It was horrific. There was trash all over the floor, there was dog feces all over the floor," Wheller said.

Gutierrez claims the house had been previously ransacked, and she was trying to clean it up.

The city went into the home and seized the dogs last week after neighbors complained about constant howling they said was heartbreaking.

"The bigger dog--you could count the ribs on the animal. It had not been taken care of," said Neighbor Ruth Patterson.

Gutierrez said these two dogs are her world and she would never do anything to hurt them and in fact she wants them back.

"I've lost my home, I've lost my job, I've lost my belongings - I lost everything, what do they want, my life next?" Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez has not yet been charged but could soon felony charges for extreme cruelty to animals.

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Source: http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s2374400.shtml?cat=500

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