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Two Arrested For Animal Abuse

Feb. 11, 2005 2:42 p.m.

An unbelievable look inside a deplorable animal rescue operation in Franklin County now has two people behind bars. Several animals are dead and others hoping for a new home.

It happened in a one-story home about 200 yards south of Highway 24, just east of Russellville, called the Heavenly Angel Animal Rescue Center. Sworn officers say it may be the worst they ever seen and smelled. Dogs and cats clinging to life, some eating whatever they could find.

The dogs may now be in the pound but it's better than where they were 24 hours ago.

"The conditions are horrible. I don't think I've ever seen anything that can compare," Grady Parrish said, director of Franklin Animal Control.

Parrish was one of the first on the scene when police made their startling discovery. Almost 50 dogs and cats are kept at this home by Robert Corum and his wife Debera. The couple claim to operate the Heavenly Angel Animal Rescue Center.

But on Thursday, the animals were rescued from the center. The bad news, some didn't make it.

"We found 3 dead and 15 puppies we're discovered to be very sick and died after we brought them in," Franklin County Sheriff Larry Plott said. "It's one of the worst I've seen ever."

In the backyard near the dog pens, another grotesque find. Just feet from this dead puppy, a pile of deer remains.

"From what we saw, it was apparent that they were using the deer carcasses as dog food for the pets," Plott said.

Who could do it? Parrish says someone who genuinely thought they were helping dogs more than they were hurting them, someone who has a problem with hoarding animals.

"They thought, in their minds, that they were doing good. I believe that. They couldn't see reality," Parrish said.

Two more of the dogs had to be put to sleep, meaning almost half have already died. The ones that survive may soon be available for adoption.