CROPSEYVILLE, NEW YORK – Several dogs and cats were apparently chained outside of a home on Jay Hakes Road for a long time, many of them were left outside in the freezing cold.
The home is owned by 83-year-old Edward Maxfield who no longer lives there.
However, it was Maxfield’s son who suggested that the dogs should get better taken care of.
“The dogs were frightened, and cold and physically it looks like they were fed regularly but they didn’t have access to water”, said Brad Shear of the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society.
There has been no word on how long the dogs were left out in the cold but it was just Friday night when they were brought to the Mohawk Humane Society to be evaluated.
A woman who did not want to be identified explained what she witnessed.
“None of them looked evacuated, they all looked well fed, they were just cold and they were tied into chains, and tied into trucks with chains”.
Sergeant Lovett with State Police told us no charges were made since the owner surrendered the dogs and signed them over. The owner told police he’s currently suffering from throat cancer and can no longer take care of the animals.
That’s when the Humane Society took the dogs in.
“A cat came up to us and you could feel almost like an icy touch to her”, said the unidentified woman.
In the end, only the dogs were brought to the shelter. The owner said some of the cats belonged to him but he also claims that many of them were feral.
“After it was all over with and I came home, that’s when all the emotions hit me”, said the unidentified woman.
We were told the owner supposedly fed the dogs twice a day but with the temperatures being so cold, their water bowls would freeze quickly.
“They need love and affection, they’re just tied up there. It’s an abandoned area”, said unidentified woman.
Traps have recently been put outside to capture the remaining cats and they will all be brought to the Mohawk Humane Society once they are all caught.
