A man is facing an animal cruelty charge after police found a decomposing dog inside his apartment in Chelsea, Massachusetts.
Massi Ennis, 24, was arraigned Friday in Chelsea District Court and bail was set at $500, according to the Suffolk District Attorney's Office. He was ordered to have no contact with dogs or other pets and is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 23.
Chelsea police said they responded to an apartment in the 100 block of Washington Avenue at 3:19 p.m. on Oct. 27 for a well-being check and a report of a dead dog. The building's maintenance manager told police that a concerned tenant had complained about a foul odor coming from one of the apartments, and when he went to check he found a dead dog in the living room.
“Opened the door,” maintenance technician Brian Youngsman recalled of the grim discovery, “poop everywhere. I closed the door and called my boss.”
When police entered the apartment, prosecutors said they saw feces throughout the main entrance, kitchen and living room, including on the couch. They also observed empty food and water bowls in the dog's crate. As they approached the dog they saw maggots and gnats around the animal's mouth, indicating decomposition.
Police were unable to locate the owner of Apartment B, later identified as Ennis, and saw that his mailbox was overflowing.
Another resident of the building told police she had not seen her neighbor in about a week, but mentioned she would often hear him yell at the dog, causing it to whimper.
The building's property manager then called Ennis to inform him that police and maintenance had entered the apartment to investigate a strong odor and found a dead dog.
Ennis was taken into custody on Oct. 30 after he appeared at the property manager's office in Quincy. He told police he was now living in Boston and was subleasing his apartment to someone he met at work about a year ago and had not been in his apartment since Oct. 3. Prosecutors said police were unable to find anyone matching the name and description that Ennis gave them.
“This is another tragic case of a pet suffering because its owner did not take some simple, humane steps like bringing the dog to a local shelter or a rescue organization," Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said. "Pets bring many joys but they also bring many responsibilities, and the lack of responsibility here is heartbreaking."
“That is really unfortunate and really cruel,” said building resident Karthik Krishna Jayaram. “You have to get a pet only if you’re 100 percent sure you are ready to be committed. It’s like a kid. You have to be there for the pet.”
Ennis hung up the phone when reached by NBC10 Boston this week, and his attorney has not responded to a request for comment.
