LAKE CITY — The State Law Enforcement Division charged a Lake City man with four counts of ill treatment of animals, four counts of animal fighting or baiting and criminal conspiracy, according to a press release.
Douglas McFadden Jr., 41, was charged Sept. 11. The Lake City Police Department requested the SLED investigation.
SLED executed a search warrant Sept. 11 at a Lake City address and found multiple pit bull-type dogs that belonged to McFadden or were under his control, according to an affidavit. All the dogs were “subjected to unnecessary pain and suffering.”
One male dog was tethered by a heavy logging chain to the inside of an open outdoor storage space that didn’t protect from the elements and had no access to water, according to an affidavit. The dog had a visible and untreated medical condition and hair loss.
Another male dog was found tethered by heavy logging chains with no house or shelter apart from a bush, according to an affidavit. He had a thick collar that was compressing his neck and no access to water.
Law enforcement also found a female dog tethered by a heavy logging chain and tangled in a water hose, according to the affidavit. The water hose prevented the dog from moving, so she was unable to seek shelter in the “inadequate housing” she was provided. The dog was “extremely emaciated,” covered in ants and had no access to food or water.
Her severe condition made it clear she’d been “intentionally left to die” on the property, according to the affidavit.
Another female dog was found on a short tether cord and had been given a “barrel house” that wasn’t elevated off the ground and failed to protect her from the elements, according to the affidavit. She didn’t have access to water.
