TOWN OF EAST TROY, Wis. — Two dogs were found dead over the weekend inside a home in the Town of East Troy.
It's a story that was emailed to TMJ4 because the family wants justice for the two dogs, Maazi and Hondo.
"She loved those dogs, I loved those dogs," Victoria Battista said.
Battista is the sister of a woman named Isabel who lives in the Town of Easy Troy.
Isabel and her former boyfriend owned Maazi and Hondo; however, for the past few years, the dogs have lived with Isabel's former boyfriend.
This past weekend, Battista said her sister went by to visit the dogs.
"She still has stuff in the house, so she went over there to get a few things and obviously see the dogs and spend time with them," Battista said.
It's a house Isabel and her former boyfriend own together, according to property records; however, Battista explained the locks had been changed, so Isabel couldn't get in.
Watch: Family speaks out after 2 dogs found dead inside Town of East Troy home
"My cousin and my sister went around the house looking through the windows and everything like that, obviously, and they couldn't see where the dogs were. They opened up one of the front windows to see or hear like if the dogs are barking. They didn't hear anything, but instead, they got hit with the smell of death," Battista explained.
Battista said her cousin and sister called the police.
"You could definitely tell there was something decomposing in the house," she said.
The Town of East Troy's police chief confirmed that when his officers arrived, they found Maazi and Hondo in the home, dead.
The chief said Isabel's former boyfriend, whom we're not naming because he hasn't been criminally charged, admitted it was his responsibility to be taking care of the dogs. The chief also said charges for animal cruelty against the former boyfriend have been referred to the district attorney.
"He had so many options. Humane society, give them up to the humane society, give them up to a friend, give them up to my sister, us, my parents. We would've done anything for those dogs," Battista said.
On Monday, we called the man who had possession of the dogs. We left a voicemail and never heard back.
"I'm advocating for my sister. She's grieving, she's in shock, she's hurt. We're just, you know, spreading the word, cause you know, Hondo and Maazi deserve justice. They didn't deserve to die the way that they did," Battista added.
We called the Walworth County DA's office to get an update on the case and possible charges. We were told they didn't talk to the media and were hung up on.
We will continue to follow up.
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