Deputies discover 63 pets in trailer

SHARPES, FLORIDA - An anonymous call led deputies and animal control officials to a trash-infested trailer, where they found 63 assorted animals, nine of them dead.

There were animal feces on the floor. Roaches were everywhere.

"We found dogs, cats, hamsters, turtles, ferrets, lizards and guinea pigs," Cpl. Gene Hope said. "If you could hold your breath, you could be inside there for 30 seconds."

The owner, Wade R. Fuller, 75, was admitted to Cape Canaveral Hospital last week, and no one had fed the animals since, law enforcement officials said.

"The animals had been dead for a while," said Bob Brown, outreach officer for Brevard County Animal Services and Enforcement. "The rest looked pretty dehydrated and malnourished." Charges are pending as the investigation continues.

Some of the rescued dogs -- a Rottweiler, a beagle and two Labrador mixes -- were transferred to the North Animal Care and Adoption Center in Titusville.

---

Contact Basu at 360-1018 or kbasu@flatoday.net