Local authorities are investigating an animal cruelty case. According to a Chillicothe Police report, an officer was called to a home on the 300-block of E. Seventh Street on a report of dogs barking just before 5 p.m., Thursday. The officer found two dogs attacking a Great Dane in a fenced-in backyard, and he had to pepper spray them to stop as the Great Dane was lying on the ground in exhaustion.
The officer reported the Great Dane had been bitten over its entire body and looked as if it hadn't eaten for weeks.
"There was no food or water for (any) of the dogs, who lived in complete filth," the officer wrote in the report, "and the smell was of something rotten, along with urine and feces everywhere."
The Ross County Dog Warden took custody of the injured dog for medical care. According to the report, the resident was not home and could not be reached, but a warrant charging animal cruelty and neglect will be sought.