Authorities continued to search Tuesday for a couple of accused of leaving two dogs to starve to death inside an east side home.
Carmella Cook and her boyfriend, Brandon Gentry, face charges of animal cruelty stemming from the case, CrimeTracker 10's Angela An reported.
A month after the pair left the home they were renting on Seymour Avenue, humane agents found the bodies of two emaciated dogs inside. Prosecutors said the animals' bodies were discovered among filth and feces.
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"They just left and they left the animals behind," said assistant city prosecutor Bill Hedrick. "They left their problems for someone else."
Hedrick said he and other authorities are growing tired of dealing with cases of animal cruelty.
"If you're going to do this and you're not going to do the right thing, we're going to go after you," he said.
Cheri Miller with the Capital Area Humane Society said her organization is seeing more and more cases lately with similar circumstances.
She said people have other options aside from abandoning their pets.
"To give up your animal is not a criminal act," she said. "But, to leave it behind and abandon it is a criminal act."
Miller said nearly 400 animals have been turned over to the Capital Area Humane Society so far this year. That's about 40 more than in 2008.
The humane society also urged neighbors to report animal neglect and abuse. In the Seymour Avenue case, neighbors heard the dogs barking for days but never called authorities, An reported.
Anyone with information about Cook or Gentry was asked to contact the Capital Area Humane Society at 614-777-7387.
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