40 animals rescued from home in Jacksonville, suspect arrested
Traymon Carr was arrested Saturday on 38 felony counts and three misdemeanors for animal cruelty.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Last year, Betty Bishop moved to Jacksonville from Texas to live with her aunt. At the time, she said there were 10 dogs living at the property.
By the time the Pulaski County Sheriff’s office got a search warrant for the home, 34 dogs, 4 cats, 2 pigs and a rooster were living in and outside the home.
“They didn’t deserve that,” Bishop said.
Bishop who lived at the house in Jacksonville said that she’s been trying to tell authorities about the animal hording that her aunt, Sherie Martinez, had at her mobile home.
It has been eight months since she originally filed a police report for the animal cruelty. Bishop visited her aunt’s home in March.
“We went out there that day, March 29. It was horrible. It was so horrible,” Bishop said.
Bishop said that when she lived with her aunt, there were 10 dogs at the residence, but they were taken care of.
That changed last month when her aunt went into the hospital, leaving the care of over 40 animals to her roommate Traymon Carr.
Carr has since been arrested and is facing 38 felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and 3 counts of cruelty to animals.
“You don’t have time to think,” Jenny Bridges, the owner of Jak’s Second Chance Ranch Rescue.
Bridges got the pictures of the circumstances the animals were living in on Friday night and started making calls. She can house around 30 dogs at her rescue at her home, but with this intake that number has over doubled.
“You just act but I wasn’t prepared, emotionally, physically, financially prepared,” Bridges said.
Some of the dogs require more care than some of the other ones. The rescue is in need of funds and fosters to take the dogs who were in what Bridges describes as a house of horrors.
“But if people can foster some of the ones that are healthy, that I’ve already gotten healthy, that are just waiting, then that makes room for me to be able to take in these ones that are medically fragile, that I have the experience with,” Bridges said.
The animals are receiving care at Little Woods Animal Hospital and they are accepting donations for the rescue, as well as Timber Tails Animal Hospital.