60 Sheep Weren't Flock, but Roomies

Mar 27, 12:42 PM

Current Headlines: By Michael Biesecker and Benjamin Niolet, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.

Mar. 27--APEX -- When Apex police got the call early Monday that wayward sheep were grazing on the floral arrangements in the town cemetery, they didn't have to guess where the animals had come from.

On an adjacent downtown property, a short stroll from the quaint restaurants and art galleries lining Salem Street, David Watts had long shared his crumbling house with what authorities say was a flock of about 60 sheep.

"He lives upstairs, and the sheep were living downstairs," Apex Police Sgt. Robert Towell said. "He considered them pets."

The sheep, which Watts occasionally walked around his residential neighborhood on a leash, are now in the custody of the Wake County Animal Care, Control and Adoption Center. Director Michael Williams estimated that about half the sheep are in such poor condition that they will have to be euthanized.

"We had to go out and purchase some corrals," Williams said.

Watts, of 205 W. Moore St., will face criminal charges of neglecting the sheep, police said, although authorities were waiting to see how many have to be put to death before determining the extent of the charges.

"A lot of them have hoof rot, and some of the females have prolapsed uteruses," Williams said. The latter refers to a condition in which a ewe's reproductive organs are hanging outside the body after it has given birth to a lamb -- the result of what Williams called "poor animal husbandry."

Towell said he had spoken with Watts, who appeared to be the only person living in the 2,200-square-foot wood-frame house that dates to 1910.

"Seemed like a regular guy," Towell said.

When approached in the muddy, fenced backyard where he sometimes kept the sheep, Watts hurried inside without saying anything. Through the front door, straw and feed could be seen covering the floor.

Tax records indicate Watts has owned the house, which sits on less than half an acre, since 1990.

Heat, flies, stench

Neighbors say they have suffered for years from swarms of flies and the stench. It's worse on summer days, particularly when it rains and turns humid, said Angie Fowler, who lives across the street.

"All I want is to be able to sit on my front porch and not smell sheep poop," she said.

Before officers could round up all of the sheep Monday, one of the rams charged Fowler's 80-year-old grandmother and 9-year-old son. She said neighbors have repeatedly complained to town and county officials but that nothing had been done.

Once a rural rail stop that has rapidly grown into a bustling suburb of about 30,000 people, Apex has no ordinance that forbids residents from keeping livestock. Mayor Keith Weatherly said the situation at Watts' home had spurred the Town Council to consider such a measure last year, but that the lawyers had yet to return to the council with a draft ordinance.

"It was under active consideration, but then time passed and there weren't any more complaints so it just sort of went away," Weatherly said Monday.

Neighbors said the mayor is misinformed if he thinks the complaints had stopped.

Trish Creta, who has lived next door to Watts for three years, said she contacted the town in January to complain about the flies and the smell. She said she was told Watts was in compliance with town ordinances and that she needed to hire a lawyer because there wasn't anything they could do.

Alternative lifestyle

"They felt like he was living an alternative lifestyle," Creta said. "I'm really sad that the town didn't stand up and help this neighborhood more."

Williams, the animal control director, confirmed Monday that his officers had visited Watts' property several times before this week. "This was the first time the neglect has been this bad," Williams said.

When informed Monday the county would start the legal process to seize the sheep, Watts agreed to give up his flock. About half were trucked to the county's shelter in Raleigh, while the rest were relocated to a local farm where the agency sometimes boards livestock.

Williams said the healthy sheep will be available for adoption.

"We occasionally get some horses and goats," the animal control director said. "But most people don't keep 60 sheep on their property in a downtown area. This is out of the ordinary."

Staff writer Michael Biesecker can be reached at 829-4698 or mbieseck@newsobserver.com.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.

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