Kentucky pet shop called ‘house of horrors’ after owner charged with animal cruelty

Published 9:33 pm Thursday, September 2, 2021

Police and members of an animal rescue group have removed 150 neglected animals from a pet shop in southern Kentucky.

Local authorities in Pulaski County, including the Burnside Police Department, served a search warrant on the pet shop, Tim’s Reptiles and Exotics on Wednesday morning. A media release from the Humane Society of the United States said dozens of “snakes, lizards, turtles, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils and fish were found living in filthy, poor conditions.”

Todd Blevins, Kentucky director for the Humane Society of the United States, called the store a “shop of horrors.”

The pet shop owner was charged with 19 counts of animal cruelty, according to the Humane Society.

The group said most animals in the store had no access to food or clean water, fish tanks were murky and guinea pigs and turtles were sharing the same enclosure.

The animals will be cared for with help from volunteer groups.