Cave Spring couple arrested after dogs found extremely malnourished chained outside in freezing temps

According to a Cave Spring Police Department Incident report, on December 17, 2022 Cave Spring police responded to Creekside Inn on Georgia Avenue after witnesses observed two extremely malnourished dogs, one locked inside a truck with no ventilation and the other chained to the bed in below-freezing temperatures. Both dogs had been there for several days and were weak, with their ribs, hips, and spines visible. According to the report, police located a brown dog in the bed of a red extended-cab pickup truck, which was chained in the back with an unsanitary crate and no shelter from the freezing temperatures and rain. A second dog, described as a lab mix, was located locked in the truck’s cab with a cardboard partition blocking the dog from public view. The windows were closed, the door was locked and the vehicle was not running. A guest staying at the hotel told officers the dogs had been there for over three days. She later directed the officers to the owners’ room. Sabrina Ellen Saunders, 35, and Dewey Frankling Saunders, 40, both of Cedartown, were identified as the owners of the dogs. When questioned about the dogs, the Saunders claimed they were perfectly healthy and saw no issues with how the dogs were being treated. Sabrina stated the dogs had to stay in the truck because they were not allowed in the hotel room. She was evicted from her previous home and had nowhere to take the dogs. According to the report, The dogs appeared to be extremely malnourished, one was lethargic and unable to move, and bones were showing through both dogs’ skin. One dog has a visible wound to its’ ear. Floyd County Animal Control was called to the scene and took the dogs. The animal control officer described both dogs as being a 1 on the body condition scale for dogs. Anything less would be death. Both Sabrina and Dewey Saunders were arrested and booked into the Floyd County Jail, charged with felony aggravated cruelty to animals x4.

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