Bodycam video shows 17 dogs rescued from pickup truck

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Body camera video shows Kent County Animal Control and other officers removing 17 dogs from a filthy pickup truck in Walker.

The dog owner, Carolyn Newsome, has been charged with failing to provide 10 or more animals with animal control. It’s a felony punishable by up to four years in prison.

The dogs were found the evening of Oct. 14 after someone called in a report of “several” dogs in a pickup truck parked outside a restaurant along Alpine Avenue north of I-96. Responding animal control officers, deputies and Walker police officers found the pickup packed with dogs barking nonstop.

“There’s a significant amount of feces in here, and not a single water bowl back here for these dogs,” one deputy can be heard saying in bodycam video obtained by News 8 through an open records request.

Newsome is from Georgia but had been staying in Michigan, investigators say.

“I don’t think you’re equipped to take care of this many animals,” one officer can be heard telling her.

“Do you understand why we’re worried, though?” a deputy questioned Newsome.

“Yeah, because they always need water and food,” she responded.

Deputies say there was hardly any room for the dogs to move. They were piled on top of each other.

“This is unbelievable,” the animal control officer remarked on the scene.

The bodycam video shows Newsome downplaying the situation and denying the dogs were in poor living conditions.

“This is not appropriate living conditions for an animal,” a deputy told her.

“No, we’re not living (in the truck). I’m just transporting them,” Newsome said.

While she claimed she had vaccination records and licensing tags for the dogs, deputies say she could not provide any documentation.

The dogs were taken to the Kent County Animal Shelter. At last update, the shelter said the dogs were receiving appropriate care but could not provide specific details about their condition because of the ongoing investigation. It was not immediately clear whether or when the dogs would go up for adoption.

Newsome is scheduled in a Walker courtroom Tuesday morning for a preliminary examination.