SCDN’s Betty Smith sat down with Scioto County Humane Agent Chrystal Brown-Dixon to talk about two recent high-profile animal abuse cases. The Scioto County Grand Jury indicted Joyce and Jamie Nixon for cruelty to animals after Portsmouth Police seized 35 living animals and 100 dead ones from a home on the Scioto Trail and the animal abuse investigation against the directors of Shawnee Humane Society, Kathi Jo and Josh McAlister. Mr. McAlister was also the humane agent for the organization.
Brown-Dixon said both cases are still in court. “We received custody of the Nixon animals. A lot of them have been placed in homes and adopted out.” She said that, unfortunately, some of the animals were very sick and did not survive. “Most of them have been adopted but Sierra’s Haven is still housing all nine of the large dogs. They’re sweet animals. They just got a bad start.”
Dixon shared images of the McCallister case involving neglected turkeys. “They had tail rot, they were underweight, they had lots of missing feathers. They’re just not developed the way a healthy turkey should be. There were carcasses present at the property where turkeys had already died.” She shared current photos of the birds. “They’ve gone from 11 and 12 lbs to 25 like they should be. This was April to August.”
She also shared images of a horse that the owner claimed was underweight due to its age. In just a few months, the horse went from emaciated to much healthier-looking. “Horses can live a long time if they are well-cared for. We would like to see that this horse doesn’t go back to the previous owner.”
While not naming names (we added the name for context), Dixon spoke harshly about people who had pledged to care for animals but had not fulfilled that duty and shared before and after images of animals Scioto County had confiscated during the course of investigations.
She had some strong words for pet owners. “If you want to see my smiling face and not a different face. Food, water, and shelter at all times. Those plastic dog houses get hot as hot can be. Try to do good by your dogs.”
