HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. — Several dogs were found dead in a Hernando County, Florida home that neighbors say no one has lived in since Hurricane Irma.
Neighbors are furious now knowing they were living next to a home where dogs were suffering inside.
"I don’t know how any human could do that," said neighbor Patt Pierce.
Pierce said on Tuesday, a construction crew working nearby notified her of a dead dog visible through the window of her neighbor’s home.
"Our houses are far enough apart where we can’t hear inside the home," said Pierce.
Neighbors tell Scripps station WFTS in Tampa that no one has lived in the home since they saw a truck moving furniture out the week before Hurricane Irma. They believe the dogs were abandoned in the home with no food or water.
"They did not die easy. Imagine being in that home and starving to dead and those animals one by one dropping, she needs to go to jail." said neighbor Chris Kirby, referring to the homeowner.
WFTS contacted the homeowner’s attorney who tells us his client, who prefers to go by the name Wendy Lauren Kopp, was letting a man live in the home and he is the one who left the dogs there.
The attorney also tells us his client is cooperating with authorities and is not a suspect in the case.
The sheriff’s office said the dogs were so decomposed, they haven't been able to accurately count how many are in there. They say their investigation is still ongoing and have not yet announced suspects in the case.
Neighbors, however, say they are still heartbroken and wish they could've done more.
"For this to happen, all of us are carrying a little guilt like we could’ve done more. We could’ve broke in we could’ve kept calling," said Kirby.
"We have a no kill shelter. We have rescue groups. We have someone in the community that would take the dogs," said Pierce.
