2 dead dogs found in JEA waste water tanks
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JACKSON, Tenn. — Two dead dogs are discovered inside a JEA aeration basin, prompting a police investigation. Jackson Animal Control officers said the dogs were removed from the waste water tanks Wednesday morning. “When we arrived, the plant employee told us that the dogs had been retrieved from the holding tanks here at the plant,” responding animal control officer Whitney Owen said. Owen said the dogs, a pit-bull mix and a beagle-mix, both were around a year old. She believes they were dumped into the tanks alive with the intent of killing them. “There’s no draw there, no smell or drive to be that close to that particular tank, and the fact that the dogs were found in separate tanks makes us think that it was not an accident,” she said. JEA staff said the aeration tanks are some of the largest at the waste water treatment facility and are used to filter city sewage. “These tanks collect the waste water throughout Jackson, and actually these basins are part of the treatment process for the waste water,” Robert Mullins with JEA said. It is possible the dogs climbed in on their own, but not very likely, according to Owen. “The probability of that happening is very, very slim,” she said. “It’s just not a likely situation.” The facility sits behind a perimeter-wide fence with barbed wire on top with a gate JEA staff said closes between the hours of 4 p.m. and 7 a.m. Mullins said the gate can only be opened by an issued key card. When the dogs were found, Owen said they had been in the tanks for at least 12 hours. “Once entrance into the tank was made, be it accidental or intentional, there was no escape for the dogs — the ledge was too high,” she said. “There would have been no way for them to get out.” Mullins said the dead dogs in the water does not impact or pose a public safety concern for drinking water. “It has no part to do with Jackson’s drinking water,” he said. “It’s strictly a waste water treatment facility.” Neither dog had visible wounds when they were examined, according to Owen. Although she admits the bacteria in the tank did speed up decomposition, “there were no broken bones, no stab wound, no gunshot wounds, no ligature marks around the neck,” she said. “There was nothing to suggest the dogs were dead before they entered the water.” Jackson police confirm they are investigating the dog deaths but had no further comment at this time.
