OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. — A Memphis firefighter was arrested on animal cruelty charges for how police said he treated five pit bulls in Olive Branch.
Edward Leroy Small was charged after police took the dogs from the city-owned property behind his home earlier this week.
The fire department told WREG he has been relieved of duty with pay.
Cell phone video captured by concerned citizens showed what police described as cruel conditions that Small forced five pitbulls to live in.
Small has been a Memphis Firefighter since 1999, but he’s now off the job.
“It’s scary. It’s scary, but we see that these things go on with anybody. All kinds of people get involved,” said Heather Fox.
Fox played a crucial role in saving the dogs.
She found out about the pits on Facebook after the video was posted on the “Rescue groups of the Mid-South” page.
Fox and others worked together to alert police about the problem.
“It’s constantly networking and keeping each other up on what’s going on, and trying to make sure we work together to tackle the issue,” she explained.
A neighbor initially spotted the dogs in a heavily wooded area behind Small’s home off Vera Lane.
Another witness WREG spoke with earlier this week said the dogs were living in thick mud in half barrels and were chained to nearby trees.
The dogs were taken to the Olive Branch animal shelter, news that came as a relief to Fox.
“It makes me feel really good to know that now those dogs are safe and have a potential for a better life,” she said.
Police refused to say if they believed the dogs were used for fighting.
Small will be in court next week.
