HERMITAGE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nearly 2 dozen cats were found dead after being dumped at a shopping center in Hermitage.
Angie Hess discovered the cats. She is an emotional wreck after making the gruesome discovery. "How can you kill a defenseless animal that has no voice and can’t fight you back?" Angie Hess questions.
Angie came across the tote full of cats while dumpster diving for goods. "I've found trash bags full of jewelry, gold, silver, and all that but no dead cats," Hess explained.
In total, there were 19 cats stuffed inside a tote and placed in a dumpster at a shopping center near Old Hickory Boulevard and Old Lebanon Dirt Road. Hess took pictures of the deceased cats for the authorities.
She said all the cats were of various ages, colors, and sizes.
She called 911, and after making the report she went back to the dumpster with a Home Depot employee to discover two cats were still alive.
"He physically checked every animal to see if they were dead or alive. When he lifted a couple dead cats a kitten came crawling out," Hess said.
An adult cat was found alive too. Hess took both of them home and bathed them.
"There water was bloody because they were covered in it. I think they were someone’s pet because they were calm, tamed, and loving," Hess said.
Metro Animal Care and Control came out to remove the deceased ones. They're investigating the cause of death
MACC is leading the investigation into this and is working with the Metro Nashville Police Department to find out who is responsible. They're planning to pull surveillance video from the shopping center.
Hess took the surviving pets to the vet and these updated pics from MACC show they’re doing well. They're expected to be okay.
Hess hopes the authorities can get to the bottom of what she calls an act of pure evil and locate who is responsible.
"I think they should be charged with 19 charges of something," Hess said.
MACC says they can only issue citations. It will be up to the District Attorney's office to press charges.
In Tennessee, there's actually an Animal Abuse Registry that lists convicted offenders. Offenders are removed from the list after two years if they don't break the law again.
The two surviving cats are still being evaluated. They're not ready for adoption just yet. Hess would like them to be adopted together.
