***WARNING: GRAPHIC PHOTOS BELOW***
By Erica Thomas, managing editor
TRUSSVILLE — The Trussville Police Department arrested a woman on Thursday, March 4, 2021, after two dogs were found dead in a home she rented.
Police said the landlord of a home in the 200 block of Ridgewood Drive called after finding the animals while cleaning. According to a police report, the woman told investigators Whitney Denise Taggart, 34, had recently moved out after living at the location for years.
When the landlord went to clean, she found one dog dead on a screened porch and another dog dead under the porch. Police said there were feces and empty dog bowls near the small dead dog on the porch. The dog under the porch was leashed to a post and was badly decomposed.
Police questioned a neighbor who reported that no one has been seen at the house since Christmas.
Taggart is facing two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals. She was arrested Thursday and booked into the Jefferson County Jail on $30,000 in bonds.