The conditions – unimaginable. One dead cow and several dead chickens found on the property. Fresno County Sheriff's investigators were called out Wednesday afternoon when someone spotted one of the dead animals.
"[I've seen] the cow there since Saturday. It gets to the point where somebody had to call the animal control place," said Faby Soto. She cares for her own animals next door but said she never saw her neighbor feed any of his animals. "Sometimes we put water but we don't want to get in trouble. We tried to feed them before and he called the cops," said Soto.
But this time, the circumstances were different. Aside from that one dead cow, three emaciated cows and several dogs were discovered at the rear of the property. "We found 3 or 4 [dogs] that were outside and they were chained up and had no water," said Chris Curtice with the Fresno County Sheriff's office.
There were also rabbits and pigs, all without any food or water. "They also found some pigs, one of which was basically dead. They doused it with water, forced water down its throat. The pic came back. It's still laying back there. It's still alive," said Curtice.
Officials say the consecutive days of triple digit heat may have contributed to the poor conditions, but the owner should have known better. Gary Long now faces time in jail for allegedly leaving his animals out to die of thirst.
