Five dead animals found in vacant apartment

Officers responded to a report of animal neglect when managers of The Stratum of Indiana apartment complex found five deceased animals in a unit Monday afternoon, Bloomington Police Department Sgt. Joe Crider said.

Management of The Stratum of Indiana apartment complex found the deceased animals in a unit leased by a 20-year-old female who reportedly left Bloomington for China.

Two deceased guinea pigs were found in a wire cage as well as three deceased gerbils in two separate cages. Another gerbil was found alive but in poor condition in a fourth cage, Crider said.

Officers also reported multiple dogs located in the apartment in wire cages covered in their own urine and feces, Crider said.

The animals were seized after officers made contact with a representative from Bloomington Animal Control.

A warrant has been requested and paperwork has been forwarded to the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office requesting preliminary charges for seven counts of abandonment and neglect of vertebrae animals.

— Samantha Felix