A puppy is discovered dead in its owner's yard as other dogs run unrestrained around it.
An anonymous 13 News viewer tip lead us to Stephen Reese's house in the community of London in Kanawha County.
The caller said there was a dead puppy in the yard, and they feared the other animals at the house were being neglected.
They were right.
Our cameras were rolling when Reese came home. He said he had no idea the puppy had died.
"I didn't know. It wasn't there yesterday. Evidently it happened sometime last night," he said.
Reese admitted he was in over his head with the animals. He wasn't sure how many animals he had.
"I don't want them put down but if I have to I guess I will. We put 6 or 8 signs out at the post office and stores and everything. We've gotten rid of three or four. I was just going to give it another week," he said.
The Kanawha/Charleston Humane Association also heard about the dead puppy. Humane Officer Jeff Allen came to check out the rest of the animals on the property.
It turns out, most of them have health problems.
"Some of the dogs have mange. They have very bad flea issues. Some of them have a lot of ear irritations and infections and damages from flies and stuff to their ears. They're just undernourished and need taken care of," Allen said.
Reese agreed to sign over six of the dogs to the KCHA.
He said he never meant for the animals to end up in the conditions they're in.
Allen said the dogs will be put up for adoption after they're treated by a veterinarian.
"Hopefully we can get them up for adoption and into good homes," he said.
Reese's problems are far from over. He's now facing animal cruelty and neglect charges for the animals that were taken away from him.
You can call the humane society if you're interested in adopting any of these dogs at 304-342-1576.
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