Sheriff speaks about finding dead dogs at Madison County home

LONDON, Ohio (WCMH) -- For the first time since deputies raided a home and found more than half a dozen dogs dead, the Madison County sheriff speaking out, saying the scene was the worst he’s seen in his career. 

Stephen Gossmeyer was arrested and charged with animal cruelty. He was being paid to train some of the dogs that died; court records show he is accused of forging documents and faking his credentials to board and train the dogs. 

"I've been on a lot of animal calls throughout my career here at Madison County and by far, this was probably the worst location I've been at when it comes to the, to the, you know, the living conditions of these animals,” Madison County Sheriff John Swaney said. 

Swaney said officials were tipped off about potential deceased animals at the home by several people including a woman in North Carolina who had entrusted her dog to Gossmeyer for training. The rural home is where the sheriff’s office found the bodies of nine dogs. 

“The house was just, it was just, it’s horrible living conditions,” Swaney said. “I’m kind of heartbroken to see the conditions that some of these dogs were living in. They would just leave them lay or put them in a bag and leave them blind.” 

The house has signs of dogs everywhere – empty cages lie on the ground next to piles of trash bags. Swaney brought in a forensic veterinarian to help determine how all the dogs died and whether it was humane. 

"We were able to determine on some of the deaths that, that we feel that starvation was, was the cause of the death of the animal,” Swaney said. 

He added that some of the animals had been dead for a while when they were found. 

“Some of them had been, since they were petrified,” Swaney said. “You know, they’ve been deceased for some time, you know? When you look at some of the animal cages that these animals were, were kept in, you know, you can see that the cages were, were ate and chewed on, you know? That's not normally common, you know, to see in dogs that are hungry." 

Gossmeyer was initially arrested for a probation violation in another dog-related conviction. He pleaded guilty to theft by deception of two dogs he was supposed to train for a client. Those two dogs, valued at $10,000 each, were never seen again.

Deputies also found seven dogs that were barely alive; some of the dogs were microchipped, so authorities have notified their owners. 

“They’re hungry, you know?” Swaney said. “They’re obviously malnourished. Living conditions they were living in were, were, were horrible, and we were able to take those animals and get them placed in our humane society.” 

Once rehabilitated, those dogs may be up for adoption if the owners can’t be tracked down.

Along with the dogs, deputies found a dead bearded dragon and another lizard that was alive but did not survive. 

“We did not find any evidence of, like, you know, dogfighting or anything,” Swaney said. 

Madison County deputies do not wear body cameras, so footage from inside the home is not available. Gossmeyer is being held on $25,000 bond; he is due in court on April 28.