The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office said that they found the owner of the pet shop where around 200 animals were allegedly abandoned.
This past Saturday, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and Franklin County Humane Society removed nearly 200 animals from Backwoods Pets in Frankfort. The sheriff said that the store and animals inside were abandoned.
Deputies have been searching for the owners since the pets were found and now, Sheriff Pat Melton says they have found them.
Melton told LEX 18 that Eric Pendleton of Russell County and his wife are listed as the owners of the business license.
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The sheriff said that Eric Pendleton also has another pet store in Russell Springs and that he is facing an unrelated murder charge there. Deputies in Russell County said he faces a murder charge after he allegedly shot and killed his father back in August.
“We were looking for anything that would prove ownership of the business and who opened it. Obviously, you have to have a business license here in Franklin County to open a business or do business here, and those are the two signatures that are on it, him and his wife as the owners of the business,” said Melton.
Eric Pendleton reached out to LEX 18 by phone and said he is not the owner, that he was part-owner but shortly after the store opened, he left the business in the hands of another owner.
He said that he simply helped open the store and furnished the animals. Pendleton said he also used to own another pet shop in Russell Springs. That store is still open, but people in the area told LEX 18 that they hope police will monitor it more closely.
“They ought to check it out more and make sure that they’re treated right and everything,” said Juanita Kerns, who lives in the area.
Sheriff Melton said that no charges have been filed against Pendleton in the pet store case.
