CALDWELL COUNTY, N.C. — A woman Channel 9 has covered for nearly 15 years has been arrested again on animal cruelty charges.
Authorities in Caldwell County rescued 66 animals living in hoarding conditions, they said Friday. They included 58 dogs, three ducks, a ferret, and four cats.
Lisa Maria Meatyard now faces 59 counts of animal cruelty. She was arrested along with Karen Renee Harris, both of whom live along Greasy Creek Road in Lenoir.
Animal control said all the animals were living with the two women in a 960-square-foot home. They found multiple dogs in a kennel, with kennels stacked on top of each other. The dogs were trapped with animal waste and mud inside.
Meatyard has also been charged with violating the sex offender registry.
Meatyard was given a $99,000 bond. More charges against her are pending, investigators said.
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As for the animals seized, Caldwell County Animal Care Enforcement is caring for them until they can be released to rescue groups. They were traumatized but they are healthy.
Animal control said it’s the second-largest seizure they have had with Meatyard in Caldwell County, and they have had enough.
“This is the last time hopefully we have to deal with this in Caldwell County,” said Richard Gilliland, the director. “I am looking at some case law and some other general statutes on trying to make this the last time that she can possess an animal.”
Deputies caught Meatyard by setting up a sting. They said she arranged a meeting to sell dogs at a park where children play, but because she is a registered sex offender, Meatyard is barred from going near parks. That’s why she picked up an additional charge for that.
Previous arrests
Channel 9 has extensively reported on Meatyard. State prison records confirm she has also gone by Lisa Hendren.
In February 2021, more than 60 neglected dogs were rescued from a property in Lenoir. The dogs were of various breeds, sizes and ages, including newborn puppies.
Authorities found them living in “substandard conditions” inside a shack whose floor was covered in feces, urine, and mud.
Livestock and poultry were also found living among piles of trash. When the animals were fed, it was out of a trough, forcing them to compete for food, according to the ASPCA.
In that case, Meatyard was charged with felony cruelty to animals and allowing animals to live in crowded or unsanitary conditions, the ASPCA said.
In November 2019, Channel 9 learned Meatyard, then identified as Lisa Hendren, was charged with a statutory sex offense with a child under 15. Deputies said they began investigating that case after a 14-year-old boy’s mother found explicit photos on her son’s cellphone.
Family members said Meatyard bought the teen the phone to communicate with him.
Even earlier than that, Channel 9 reported in 2010 that Meatyard was accused of buying sick puppies and then selling them on Craigslist.
“They had contracted the parvovirus and would die, sometimes within hours, after they were purchased,” Marguerite Mebane with the Cleveland County Humane Society said then.
At the time, Mebane said her agency had been getting complaints about Meatyard for two years. She said they couldn’t do anything about it then because there were no regulations in place.
The state veterinary medical board charged Meatyard with administering vaccinations to other people’s dogs, which is illegal without a license.
State prison records show Meatyard was released in November 2022 after being convicted of indecent liberties with a child, two counts of cruelty to animals, communicating threats, and simple assault/affray.
(WATCH BELOW: Animal Advocates Say Woman Sold Sick Puppies On Craigslist)
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