By Richard Kerns
rkerns@newstribune.info
tribune staff writer
KEYSER — Keyser City Police called in the fire department for protective boots Wednesday morning after entering a home on East Piedmont Street that had trash, debris and animal waste piled a foot or more deep throughout the dwelling.
“I was literally bouncing as I walked,” one officer said. “There wasn’t a single spot where the floor was bare.”
Police responded at 8:04 a.m. to the house in the 100 block of East Piedmont Street after a neighbor reported dogs running loose. Officers found that a door had been left open and, failing to make contact with the occupants, entered the house to check on their welfare.
What they found prompted the police to contact the Health Department to determine whether the house was habitable or posed a threat to neighbors. Trash was piled throughout, the dwelling had no running water, and the two dogs — one with a long, matted coat that made it nearly unrecognizable as a canine — were coated in feces.
Investigation determined that the water had been shut off at least six months ago.
While police officers are exposed to a variety of unkempt residences in the course of their duties, officers said the Wednesday call was among the worst they had ever encountered. One officer said that, over a 20 year career, it was only the second time that he could recall the Health Department being called to investigate such living conditions.
More than just the trash they had to wade through, officers noted the stench of the place.
“It gets in your sinuses,” one veteran said three hours after the call. “My stomach is still rolling.”
No charges were filed against the occupants, described as a male in his late teens and his mother. No children lived at the residence.
Police said residents can generally only be cited for public-safety violations when debris and trash are allowed to accumulate outside a house. In this case, the exterior was relatively well maintained. Any such citations or other enforcement actions would have to come through the Health Department.
In addition to the Health Department, animal control officers also responded, taking custody of the two dogs. Police said the owners may face animal-cruelty charges.
Health Department and Animal Control officials were unavailable for comment Wednesday.
Keyser, W.Va. —
