44 dogs, dead animals found in Palm Coast home after child neglect arrest

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with bond information from Flagler County jail records.

A Palm Coast woman was arrested on child neglect charges after deputies said her children had been living in a home filled with animal feces, where investigators later found 44 live dogs and multiple dead animals.

Sandra Teague, 58, of Palm Coast, was arrested Thursday after deputies said she abandoned her three children, ages 13, 14 and 17, at AdventHealth Palm Coast.

According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, a 17-year-old walked into the emergency room wearing socks and no shoes and told staff his mother had dropped him off because she was upset.

In the affidavit obtained by HomeFetch, the children told deputies were dropped off at the corner of the hospital and walked inside. Deputies later saw one of the children leaving the hospital and trying to walk back home.

Teague told deputies she left the children there because she believed it was a safe place, according to the affidavit.

Deputies later contacted the child’s two siblings. The children told them their mother became upset after one of the family’s foster dogs died that morning and blamed them, according to the sheriff’s office.

The children told deputies that multiple dogs had died in the home of starvation and thirst, according to the affidavit.

When deputies went to the home, they reported garbage and animal feces throughout the residence. They could hear the dogs but could not immediately determine how many were inside, per the affidavit.

One deputy reported a German shepherd appeared exhausted and was panting, and when asked about water for the dog, Teague pointed to a conch shell containing green, algae-filled rainwater, the affidavit stated.

During a search of the home, deputies found 44 live dogs, three live pigs, one live cat and one live snake inside the home, according to the sheriff’s office. Multiple dead animals were also found in kennels on the property.

The live animals were removed with the help of Palm Coast Animal Control.

“Not only does she not treat or care for her children properly, but she should never own or be a foster provider for helpless animals ever again,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said.

Teague was booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on three counts of child neglect, according to the sheriff’s office. Flagler County jail records show she was assigned three $50,000 bonds, totaling $150,000. The bonds are listed as active, and no release date was recorded as of May 2.

A spokesperson for the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office told HomeFetch the case remains an active investigation and that investigators are reviewing other calls in the area as part of the investigation.

HomeFetch has reached out to Palm Coast Animal Control for details on the animals’ condition, custody status and next steps.

This story will be updated.