MI Couple Abandons Pups Who Starved To Death In Empty Home: Sheriff

GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, MI — Police are looking for a couple who left a Genesee County trailer where two dogs were found starved to death in November, according to the Genesee County Sheriff's Office.

Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson said 46-year-old Bruce Arlyn Austin and 43-year-old Jamie Lynn Cross moved out of a trailer on Justin Drive at the Parkwood Mobile Home Park off Maple Road on Nov. 11.

On Nov. 27, the property manager called animal control to investigate the trailer because of a barking dog, Swanson said.

When they entered the trailer, they found two puppies that starved to death, and another starving dog who was still alive, Swanson said.

Swanson said the dogs damaged the door and wall trying to claw their way out of the home.

A veterinarian performed necropsies on the two dead dogs and determined they died from severe starvation, Swanson said.

The veterinarian also found that the dogs ate hair, plastic and metal while seeking nourishment, Swanson said.

The third dog, who was named Bubba, survived the situation and was recently adopted into a new home, Swanson said.

Investigators believe Austin and Cross abandoned the dogs and left them alone inside the trailer when they moved away.

"Jamie and Bruce did this," Swanson said, while showing a photo of the dead puppies. "Sometimes, it's the photo that brings to reality what's happening."

Police are looking to question Austin and Cross about the dogs' living conditions. The couple can face three counts of killing and torturing animals and one count of animal cruelty.

Although the couple is from the Flint area, Swanson said they have ties to the Traverse City area and Arizona.

Anyone with information about the couple's whereabouts should call the Genesee County Sheriff's Office.