Four dogs, one dead, found abandoned in squalid Athens apartment; Woman arrested for animal cruelty

Kanethia Shantheria Blackwell

By Joe Johnson

A woman who left behind dogs to starve and die when she abandoned her Athens apartment has been arrested on felony animal cruelty charges.

Kanethia Shantheria Blackwell was last seen by management of The Flats at 235 on Sycamore Drive on Jan. 23 when she turned in some money at the front office, according to an Athens Clarke County police report; On Feb. 16, management filed an eviction notice on the woman.

Then, on Feb. 21 County Animal Services personnel called police because they wanted to enter Blackwell’s apartment but first wanted officers to check on the smell of decay coming from inside in case there was a dead body.

The police report noted that when officers entered the apartment, they were greeted by three “gentle” starving pit bulls, and discovered that a fourth dog was deceased, showing signs of decay.

“As I moved further into the apartment, the entirety of the residence was covered in blood, feces, and urine,” an officer wrote in the report. “From the looks and smell of the apartment and the 3 remaining dogs, the owner abandoned them for at least a month.”

No food or water had been left out for the dogs, the officer observed.

The police report did not indicate where the blood might have come from. No one was at Animal Services to take a call from Classic City News, and The Flats property manager refused to speak to a reporter.

Warrants were subsequently obtained for Blackwell’s arrest on felony aggravated animal cruelty charges, and she was arrested on Saturday, to be released the following day upon posting bonds totaling $2,400.

The woman had been booked into jail with an address in Covington.