Nebraska Humane Society details conditions of animals retrieved in January; two arrested on felony warrants

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Following an investigation into the neglect of nearly 90 animals and the deaths of 40 others at a north Omaha residence in January, the Nebraska Humane Society said Wednesday that two people had been arrested.

NHS investigators requested felony warrants for Cruelty to Animals for Sierra L. Lang, 30, and Tremaine L. Thomas, 35, who were both arrested on Monday, according to a news release from the Nebraska Humane Society.

“During the search warrant, NHS recovered 88 living and 40 deceased animals including dogs and other domestic animals; some were severely neglected,” the release states.

WARNING: Details below contain descriptions of animals that some may find disturbing.

In late January, police were called to a home near 45th and Burdette streets for a domestic disturbance. But once officers arrived, they quickly noticed something was wrong.

“The officers arrived on an unrelated call, while they were in the house they noted that these are terrible conditions, that there are far more animals than there should be,” said Steve Glandt, VP of field operations at NHS.

When the team at the Nebraska Humane Society was able to get a warrant and get inside, they found 128 animals in horrific conditions.

Investigators say the home was covered in animal waste and that it was difficult to get around the home.

It was already too late for 40 of the animals inside, the team at NHS found them dead when they arrived — some even preserved in the freezer. The worst of the animals still alive: a potbelly pig.

“It was in very emaciated condition. You could see its ribs. It was, I believe it was around 100 pounds underweight where it should have been. Its hooves had not been trimmed in quite a long time. They were overgrown so bad that they were curling around and the animal couldn’t even stand up,” Glandt said.

The pig was in such bad shape NHS said the most humane thing to do was euthanize it.

That’s where the felony charge stems from.

NHS leaders say the pair is charged with about 30 other misdemeanors for the other animals.

“Animals were in various stages of neglect, unkept, kind of mangy fur, loss of fur. You could tell some hadn’t been fed properly in a while,” Glandt said.

For the past several weeks the team here has been caring around the clock for the surviving animals.

Officials say many are now getting a second chance at life. Most are no longer at the Nebraska Humane Society.

“They were able to get the animals back into a condition where they could either be transferred to other shelters to be adopted out, go to foster homes or to be adopted out from here,” said Glandt.

There are a few of the animals that will remain under the care of NHS while the two people charged in this case fight to get them back.

“There are two or three other animals that they want to petition the courts to get back. So they just remain here until the courts decide that,” said Glandt.

Caring for the major influx of animals took an entire NHS team, stretching the organization’s resources, they told 6 News last month.

“We have ongoing forensic exams to be conducted. we have to photograph the animals and document any type of neglect issues, injuries, and things like that, and that all goes into the package that we present to prosecutors,” Steve Glandt, Nebraska Humane Society VP of field operations said at the time.

NHS was are also caring for hundreds of animals taken in after another neglect case in December.

The Nebraska Humane Society thanked OPD, the Metro Area Fugitive Task Force, and the Douglas County Attorney’s Office for their assistance with the investigation.

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Digital Director Gina Dvorak contributed to this report.

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