Bristow resident, Tanya Stice, has been charged with one felony count of alleged Cruelty to Animals and two misdemeanor counts of Unlawful Disposal of a Carcass. Stice has plead Not Guilty to all charges.
It began at the end of August when Amber Hunsucker with Lab for Life Rescue, out of Oklahoma City, reached out online that she was looking for a foster home for a brown labrador named, Hadley. Hadley had special needs and needed to be kept indoors and fed small meals. Stice responded that she could foster Hadley. Hunsucker stated that Stice presented herself as a non-profit rescue.
On August 21st, Hunsucker contacted the Creek County Sheriff's office making a report that she was having ongoing issues with Stice regarding Hadley. Hunsucker was told that Hadley had been hit by a car and died. Hunsucker then decided she was going to Stice's property to pick up Hadley's body in oder to give her a proper burial. Upon arrival she allegedly found Hadley's body, not in a grave, but covered with some leaves and Hunsucker said it looked as if Hadley had been attacked by other dogs. Hunsucker said she saw some horrific things while on the property and videoed what she could, especially a trash pile that allegedly had some dismembered dogs in it. The videos were turned over to the Creek County Sheriff's office.
After Hunsucker made the report, Creek County Sheriff's Office began its investigation at the propety located at 23904 Slick Road and another property owned by Stice located at 24353 S. 225th West Ave., Bristow. Upon arrival, the officer reported seeing 12- 15 dogs and a little later finding four more dogs of all breeds and sizes. The deputy reported he did not see any food or water for the dogs, nor were there any shelter for them. The trash pile was located by the deputy, where he reported seeing at least two deceased dogs in the pile. One dogs head was separated from its body.
When Stice was questioned regarding the dismembered dogs in the trash pile, she allegedly stated that the dogs had the contagious disease, Parvo. Hunsucker wanted to contact the Oklahoma Alliance to Animals to have the dogs removed but was advised by the deputy that as long as the investigation was ongoing, no one would be removing the dogs from the property and that the sheriff's department works directly with the Tulsa Humane Society in cases involving animal cruelty.
The deputy made contact with Stice the following day when Stice was also told that none of the animals were to be removed from the property as long as it was under investigation. He then again checked the trash pile where the head of the dog, he had seen the prior day, had been removed from the pile. Stice was told by the deputy that he would return in a week when he wanted to see adequate food, water and shelter for the dogs, along with shot records, cremation records for the deceased dogs, that Stice allegedly told the deputy she was in the process of getting, and any treament records for the dogs. Stice was provided with a copy of the Animal Cruelty report with the requirements requirie within the following week.
On August 23, a different deputy went to Stice's property where he then found 28 dogs.ported seeing 12- 15 dogs and a little later finding four more dogs of all breeds and sizes. The deputy reported he did not see any food or water for the dogs, nor were there any shelter for them. The trash pile was located by the deputy, where he reported seeing at least two deceased dogs in the pile. One dogs head was separated from its body.
When Stice was questioned regarding the dismembered dogs in the trash pile, she allegedly stated that the dogs had the contagious disease, Parvo. Hunsucker wanted to contact the Oklahoma Alliance to Animals to have the dogs removed but was advised by the deputy that as long as the investigation was ongoing, no one would be removing the dogs from the property and that the sheriff's department works directly with the Tulsa Humane Society in cases involving animal cruelty.
The deputy made contact with Stice the following day when Stice was also told that none of the animals were to be removed from the property as long as it was under investigation. He then again checked the trash pile where the head of the dog, he had seen the prior day, had been removed from the pile. Stice was told by the deputy that he would return in a week when he wanted to see adequate food, water and shelter for the dogs, along with shot records, cremation records for the deceased dogs, that Stice allegedly told the deputy she was in the process of getting, and any treament records for the dogs. Stice was provided with a copy of the Animal Cruelty report with the requirements requirie within the following week.
On August 23, a different deputy went to Stice's property where he then found 28 dogs. He reported that the dogs seemed to be in good shape but did not have any shelter. Two small kid sized swimming pools had been placed for water and he noticed dog food sitting on some metal siding and a large bag of food on top of the metal siding. Stice allegedly told the deputy that the dogs didn't really need water as they had a pond to drink from, which was about 500 yards from the main residence, and they didn't need shelter as the dogs stayed in the house. The deputy reported that the home smelled of urine and feces from all the animals and the home was not big enough for 28 dogs and cats, along with Stice and her husband.
Stice agreed to sign over most of the dogs to the Tulsa Humane Society. Fifteen dogs were removed from the property located at 23904 Slick Road and another four removed from the property at 24354 S. 225th West Ave. making a total of 19 dogs. Stice was allowed to keep eight of the dogs but had to move the remaining eight to one property and all of the animals carcasses had to be disposed of properly.
On Aug. 24, the sheriff's department was contacted by the Oklahoma Veterany Specialists that Stice had come into the office to drop off three (3) large kitchen trash bags with dog body parts in them. The clinic reported one bag contained three separate mandibles and that all three bags were approximately ¾ full of remains.
On Aug. 26, 2021, Stice provided the sheriff's office with a receipt from the Oklahoma Veterinary Specialists where she had allegedly took the deceased dogs carcasses to be cremated, and also showed copies of receipts for vaccinations shots that she had gotten for the dogs but had not yet given them to the dogs.
On Sept. 2, 2021, the deputy conducted another follow-up at Stice's property. Stice provided the deputy with a list of dogs and vaccination records. The list of vaccinations that Stice provided was for canine distemper and parvo, not for rabies. According to the report, the deputy again did not see shelter, water or food, that had been there the previous day. Stice again allegedly told the deputy that the dogs live in the house and the door was left open so the dogs could come and go as they please.
After the deputy finished the investigation a warrant for Stice's arrest was sent to the District Attorney's office. On Oct. 5, 2021, charges were filed against Stice for one felony count of Cruelty to animals and two misdemeanor counts of unlawful disposal of a carcass. Stice will appear in court again on Nov. 19, 2021. If found guilty of the alleged crimes, Stice could face five years in prison and a fee of $5,000.00.