A Carter County man faces animal cruelty charges after police say they found two dogs on his property that appeared to have died of starvation.
Deputies of the Carter County Sheriff’s Office arrested Ricky Wayne Oliver, 58, of 798 Highway 91, Elizabethton, on Friday, Dec. 23, on a warrant charging him with two counts of animal cruelty.
According to court documents, CCSO Lt. Keith Range and Deputy Samantha Maney went to Oliver’s home in Stoney Creek after Maney received information there were two dead dogs on the property which were still chained and lying on the ground.
“I asked Mr. Oliver if he had any dogs to which he replied he did but they had died,” Range said in the affidavit of complaint against Oliver.
When Range asked where the dogs were, he said Oliver pointed to a dog house in front of the home and said another was located in the back yard.
“I asked him how long ago they had died and he said he didn’t know,” Range said. “I then asked him when was the last time he had seen the animals alive and he replied a week or so ago. I asked Mr. Oliver what had happened to which he replied ‘I reckon they starved to death.’”
Range said he then asked Oliver for permission to go view the animals and Oliver granted his permission.
“The first dog appeared to be a beagle mix and was deceased in his doghouse and he was in a stage of early decomposition. He was still on his chain,” Range said. “We then located another doghouse in the backyard and discovered another dog deceased inside the doghouse and was also still on his chain. It was apparent the dogs were malnourished and apparently died of starvation as Mr. Oliver stated.”
Following his arrest by Maney, Oliver was transported to the Carter County Detention Center where he was booked in. He was later released after posting a $2,000 bond. Oliver is scheduled to appear in Carter County General Sessions Court on Feb. 14, 2017.