Dozens of dead dogs in Milwaukee home; man charged
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man is accused of having dozens of dead dogs in a north side home this summer.
Prosecutors charged 45-year-old Michael Ellis with five felony counts of mistreatment of animals. He appeared in court Wednesday and was issued a $5,000 signature bond.
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WARNING: Some readers may find details of this story disturbing. Discretion is advised.
Police were called to the home near Teutonia and Villard on Aug. 6. According to a criminal complaint, an employee with the Department of City Development told police the city foreclosed on and took ownership of the home on June 14. They were there to perform a "standard walkthrough" of the home, which Ellis previously owned, on that August day.
Michael Ellis
Prosecutors said the city employees only made it a few feet into the home when they were "overcome with the odor from inside." The employees saw several dead dogs in the kitchen, left and called the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission (MADACC). They noted there was a lit candle in the kitchen, which they thought someone lit beforehand in an attempt to mask the odor.
"It just boggles the mind how this happened," MADACC Executive Director Karen Sparapani said. "It was very painful for a person who's worked 20 years in animal welfare."
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Sparapani was called to the home in early August, part of a team investigating.
"The skeletons were just everywhere," she said. "I've never seen anything like that."
MADACC responded that day and found three living dogs, all of which were "severely emaciated," per the complaint.
The remains of two other dogs were found as well, one of which prosecutors said was "too far decomposed" to conduct a necropsy. The other dead dog showed "significant evidence of emaciation and severe muscle atrophy," and a veterinarian suspected starvation and emaciation as the cause of death.
Detectives and MADACC returned to the home on Aug. 13. Prosecutors said they determined there were 25 dead dogs on the first floor, mostly in garbage bags, and another 28 dogs in the basement. MADACC told FOX6 the dogs in the basement were dead.
"There were bodies on top of bodies with crates on top of them," Sparapani said. "Animal life has no value in our community anymore and it's really heartbreaking to see."
Cellphone records for Ellis determined he was at the residence in the overnight hours prior to the city employees' arrival on Aug. 6. He turned himself in on Sept. 19 and admitted that the hoarding of dogs began after a recent divorce. He said he began to struggle to keep up with them and was "embarrassed" to seek help from groups such as MADACC.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story noted the presence of dozens of living dogs. MADACC has since clarified that those dogs were deceased, and only three dogs were found alive.