( From Bedford County Sheriff’s Office)
From Bedford County Sheriff’s Office: On 1/25/22 the Bedford County Sheriff’s received a tip from crime stoppers and also the humane society in reference to possible animal hoarding and cruelty occurring at a residence on the 1500 block of Eagle View Drive located in the Goodview area of Bedford County. Animal Control Deputies arrived at the residence to find approximately 26 dogs in and around the residence in poor living conditions and malnourished. Deputies then secured and served a search warrant for the property to recover the animals and get them treated. With the help of the nonprofit organization “Friends of Bedford County Animal Shelter” and Dr. Ryan at Riverside Veterinarian Clinic assisting in this investigation, Deputies were able to transport all of the animals away from the scene to receive treatment and be housed. The suspect in this case, Thomas Duggins, age 71 of Goodview Virginia was arrested on scene and at this time charged with 10 counts of animal neglect. This is an ongoing investigation and additional charges may be sought at the completion.The Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the public for alerting us to this situation so we could step in and help the helpless. This large-scale rescue could not have been possible without the assistance of Dr. Ryan at the Riverside Veterinary Clinic and the “Friends of Bedford County Animal Shelter”. This is just the beginning for these rescued animals, and they will require additional care and treatment, so if anyone in the public would like to help, “friends of Bedford County Animal Shelter” are a nonprofit and accept donations which would be put to good use helping these animals.
