'Horrifying' filth in Macon home where woman, dogs lived

A 71-year-old woman was lying helpless on a sofa when the police came calling Thursday morning.

Bibb County sheriff's deputies had heard that she and her dozen-plus dogs might, as one officer later noted in a report, be "in dire need of attention."

The officer, Deputy Kenneth Hester, wrote that when he went inside the woman's house at 951 Perdue St. in south Macon, what he saw and smelled "was horrifying."

"The smell of methane gas bellowed from the front door," Hester's write-up said. "There was dog urine and feces everywhere."

The woman was on a sofa "filthy with dog feces," the report said, adding that she "had not bathed in weeks" and that "her clothes were covered in feces and dog hair and she could barely hold herself up."

The woman's 50-year-old son, Timothy Dunn of Macon, was subsequently charged with elder abuse and 16 counts of animal cruelty.

Authorities said the dogs were malnourished, that there was no food or water for them.

Conditions in the home's bathroom, which had no running water, were described as beyond deplorable.

According to the report, Dunn, his mother's caretaker, "not only caused this situation to get out of control, but has not lifted a hand in trying to get better, more adequate care" for her.

The woman claimed she was fine and didn't need medical help, though deputies removed her from the house and placed her with another family member, officials said.

The house sits on a back street north of Newberg Avenue and below Hightower Road, between Houston Avenue and Interstate 75.

Thirteen animals were living inside the house, and three were found outside. They were taken to the county's veterinarian.

Telegraph writer Joe Kovac Jr. contributed to this report.

This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 4:49 PM with the headline "'Horrifying' filth in Macon home where woman, dogs lived ."