‘It breaks my heart:’ 5 dogs recovering after local woman was charged with animal cruelty

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A handful of local dogs are now on the mend after being left to live in what officers describe as deplorable conditions.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

Angel Jones is facing animal cruelty charges for neglect after the dogs were taken from her home in Lake Forest.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

Animal Care and Protective Services began investigating. Its report details how officers found the dogs living in their own waste, hungry and thirsty in a hot garage with no air conditioning.

Action News Jax Annette Gutierrez found ACPS has responded to nearly 50 complaints at Jones’s address over the past two years. Most of them were related to animal cruelty.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrested Jones on Sunday for five counts of animal cruelty, all related to some form of neglect.

“Fur babies are just like children, it’s horrible,” neighbor Amber Johnson said.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office’s arrest report references an ACPS investigation from June 24th.

When Gutierrez went to Jones’s home to ask about the allegations, a man answered asking, “What’s going on?” He then quickly shut the door after Gutierrez referenced the recent arrest.

READ: ‘You could hear the stress:’ Nearly 60 dogs saved during raid in Jacksonville

ACPS’s report shows officers initially responded to the house about “a strong foul odor,” and a dead dog outside.

“That’s heart wrenching,” Johnson said. “There are babies here and they’re not being taken care of and they’re right down the street from my house. It breaks my heart for anyone who can’t speak.”

The report said when animal services began to investigate, officers found five dogs inside the garage fighting each other to the point where one became “limp and lifeless.”

Officers said the dogs were so thirsty when they made it outside, they “began to drink [out of] a bucket of black water.”

The officer immediately took them to the shelter to get medical care.

READ: Dogs chained and left without food for ‘at least a week:’ Columbia man arrested for animal abuse

“I’m glad that the babies are in a better place, it just sucks the way that it happened,” Johnson said. “Nobody ever wants to hear horror stories.”

The report said the garage floor had “layers of urine and feces,” there were empty water bowls and no air conditioning.

The officer told Jones, that the “malnutrition was unacceptable.” And the report said, Jones “did not appear remorseful.”

I also called Jones tonight. She answered but asked me to stop reaching out to her.

“Don’t take a baby if you can’t take care of them,” Johnson said.

Jones was released the next day from jail. Her next court date is set for Aug. 27.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.