The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff, Wire Reports

Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 07:22 PM

Owner Of Johnson City Pet Store Charged With Animal Cruelty Charges

JOHNSON CITY, TN (WVLT) ---- The owner of an exotic pet shop in Johnson City is facing dozens of animal cruelty charges.

Washington County, Tennessee Animal Control charged Corey Houser with 35 counts of cruelty.

He is the owner of Village Pets.

Animal Control says they had gotten several complaints about the shop and had given Houser several warnings before charging him.

We're told the conditions that the animals are living in are unacceptable.

“Not keeping them clean, the tanks full of algae, the snakes have all kind of feces and old skin in there where they’re not cleaned on a regular basis like they should be." said Wayne Thomas from Animal Control.

He said Houser works at the store alone and was trying to maintain too many animals by himself.

Houser is scheduled to appear in sessions court on November 14 at 9 a.m.