A Volusia County woman faces 10 misdemeanor animal cruelty charges after deputies found two dogs and eight cats without food or water inside her home Monday, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies went to the home on Buckshot Avenue in Osteen about 11 a.m. to help Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers serve a search warrant, an arrest report states. Volusia County Animal Services also responded.
Samantha Nicole Ashby, 34, told deputies she owned the animals, according to the report.
Inside, deputies found two dogs in wire crates “partially covered with household items and blankets,” according to the report. Neither dog had food or water, and a bowl inside one of the crates held only hay, excessive dog hair and plastic wrappers.
The other crate contained excessive amounts of feces, some old, matted and molded into the wire flooring, the report states. The crate was missing its plastic floor tray, which deputies wrote increased the dog’s risk of injury or infection due to unsanitary conditions. The wall behind the crates showed black discoloration consistent with mold.
Deputies described an overwhelming ammonia odor in the home, which had no open windows or other ventilation.
In an adjoining room holding the eight cats, the ammonia odor was so strong that deputies and animal control officers “experienced difficulty breathing, with several beginning to cough or gag,” according to the report. Deputies wrote that feces covered the floor and filled the litter box. The only food in the room was a small bowl that appeared old, and there was no visible water. Ashby told deputies the cats were always kept in that room.
Chickens, two turkeys and two goats were also on the property, according to the report. A deputy from the sheriff’s office’s Agriculture Unit found the chickens and one goat in fair condition, but both turkeys had severe mite infestations that caused feather loss and visible distress, the report states.
The second goat was in the room with the cats, and Ashby told deputies it was being treated for pneumonia and needed to be kept apart from the other animals. The Agriculture Unit deputy confirmed it had recently seen a veterinarian, and the goat was left in the care of a friend, according to the report.
Deputies found no probable cause for charges involving the livestock, but the agriculture unit plans a follow-up visit, the report states.
Ashby refused to surrender any of the animals, but Animal Services removed all 10 dogs and cats from the property, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
She was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail and later released after posting $5,000 bond, jail records show.
