A Sevier county man has been arrested for animal neglect and cultivation of marijuana.
Last Wednesday Sevier County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Officer Phil King responded to a complaint at a home located in the 290 block of Ingle Hollow Rd. in Sevierville about animals being kept in poor living conditions.
King went to the home of Jeffery Ward, 45, where he found 54 dogs, four cats, six birds and three lizards being kept mostly inside the home.
The animals were in very poor condition and some of them appeared to be sick and malnourished. One dog was found dead in an outside dog kennel.
Most of the animals were taken to the Sevier County Animal Shelter, but some had to be taken to an animal clinic for treatment.
King said that some of the dogs appeared to be purebreds and that it was a “classic case of animal hoarding.”
Personnel from the Sheriff’s Office and the Humane Society worked into the evening on Wednesday removing the animals from the home.
King said that the conditions inside the home were horrific, with animal waste on the floors and no signs that the owner had tried to clean up.
Ward also had flea bites and sores on his legs.
Officers had to wear protective air purifying respirators inside the home to protect themselves from airborne pathogens while collecting the animals.
Officers also found several marijuana plants growing outside the home, which were collected as evidence.
Ward has been charged with manufacturing marijuana, 66 counts of animal cruelty and one count of aggravated animal cruelty. He was booked into jail under a $4,500 bond. He will be arraigned on the additional cruelty charges and an additional bond will be set.
A Sept. 26 hearing date has been set in General Sessions Court.

... read the rest of the story by Subscribing now.