FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - In early December, a Fulton County man was charged with more than 80 counts of animal cruelty among other charges after 97 dogs were found in unsanitary conditions in the home of a south Fulton County hoarder.
On Wednesday, the Fulton County Environmental Court said Thomas Phillips has received an $8,600 fine and 30 months of probation.
In addition, he is prohibited from owning an animal for ten years.
"I was shocked," said Tim Poorman of Fulton County Animal Services at the time of the December arrest. "As human beings, we domesticated these animals, so it's our job to take care of them."
Poorman said Animal Control had initially been called to the home in the 200 block of Lori Lane in Riverdale once previously -- in 2014 -- when a neighbor had complained of too many dogs at the house. The man who had answered the door at that point said he only had three dogs, according to Poorman. That person would not let animal control workers in.
In a lot of cases with dog hoarding situations, Poorman said, they find dogs with internal parasites, inbreeding and in bad health.
In the December situation, out of the dogs they rescued, one died. That one was being attacked by other dogs at the time of the rescue, and later died at an animal shelter. No other dead dogs were found at the time of the rescue.
In addition to the animal cruelty charges, Phillips was charged with 53 counts of unsanitary conditions, 53 counts of no Fulton County license and a single count of having too many animals on the premises.
