J.D. Gallop

FLORIDA TODAY

MERRITT ISLAND — It is a neighborhood of sound. Airplanes buzz overhead, flying toward a small, island airport nearby. Down the street, a man stands shirtless in his yard sawing wood at a work table. A few yards away, the pitch of yapping dogs blends with wind chimes.

And along Kennwood Avenue, several men hammer on the partially-burned roof of a home where more than five months ago, the commotion of dogs barking desperately and fire engine sirens wailing startled neighbors.

It was 3:11 a.m. Jan. 11. Firefighters raced into the concrete-block home at 473 Kennwood Ave., as flames chewed through the carpet and grayish, toxic smoke filled the interior. They found a surreal scene: Dozens of cats and dogs in cages and behind makeshift barriers constructed with lattice, picket fencing and plywood throughout the single-story home, with many dead and others scurrying to get out.

By mid-morning, firefighters and Brevard County Animal Services officers stepped through a thick sludge that was a combination of fecal matter, soot and ash coating the floor to collect the bodies of 60 animals: 45 cats, five kittens, seven Australian Shepherds, two raccoons and one macaw.

​More:45 cats, 5 dogs die in Merritt Island house fire

An additional 14 dogs survived along with one cat. Firefighters and homeowner David Brantley carried out many of them, or they were swooped up by residents who stepped out into the night with blankets to help amidst the chaos.

Neighbors were saddened by the circumstances, but not shocked.

Some recently recalled how, before the fire, dozens of cats fed at the couple’s home and roamed the neighborhood unchecked, laying claim to lawns and meowing incessantly.

“I told them,” said Linda Ostas, a neighbor who witnessed the chaos of that cool January morning.

As she stood in her front yard beneath a rustling oak tree, she recalled how she told an Animal Services officer about the home weeks before the fire broke out.

“I just knew they had too many animals. I told them things were totally unacceptable. And the officer … she just assured me they would do something about it.”

More: Two arrested after house fire that killed 50 pets

COMPLIANCE ISSUES

Since the fire broke out in a back bedroom — likely attributed to a faulty extension cord, according to the fire marshal — Brantley, 55, and his wife Jacquelyn Traum, 67, are struggling to come to terms with what happened. They moved in across the street with a neighbor.

They each face four felony counts of animal cruelty in addition to four misdemeanor charges of cruelty to animals.

The Sheriff’s Office initially filed 74 counts of animal cruelty against each. Prosecutors, however, whittled that down to the eight counts each, aiming to argue the cases they believe can be won before a jury. Traum and Brantley each could face up to 24 years in prison if convicted.

On July 27, they're scheduled for a hearing with a Brevard County judge to discuss a trial date. They also face Brevard County code compliance violations.

Brantley, a waste management worker, continues to repair the home. Hammer pounds and buzzing saws can be heard as the couple cleans out the smoke-and-fire damaged house where Traum grew up with her mother.

The surviving animals were placed in shelters for care; all have been adopted.

Tod Goodyear, spokesman for the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, which oversees Animal Services, said investigators are looking into various aspects of the case.

"They were collectors of cats, however, (they) were attempting to breed and sell the shepherds," Goodyear said in an emailed statement.

Officials would not address whether they’d received any complaints about the couple's animals, nor would they make Animal Services officers available for comment.

But neighbors in the area reported they alerted Animal Services about the dogs and cats. Ostas was one of them.

"It makes you wonder who is speaking for the animals. Where is the justice for them?" she said. "But I don't want (the couple) to go to jail. I think they've suffered enough."

County code enforcement officers had been to the home previously, investigating complaints.

Brevard County Sheriff’s Investigator Doug Scragg said the couple “inhumanely housed a large amount of animals within a small space,” and that the way the animals were confined contributed to their “excessive suffering and stress.” The house, deputies reported, was in deplorable condition with feces strewn across the floor.

"Barriers were responsible for many of the deaths as the animals could not escape during the fire," Goodyear said via email.

The couple's attorney said his clients were wrongly cast as villains.

“We dispute that the surviving animals were malnourished. None of them were suffering. One of the dogs that was treated by a vet after the fire had just been neutered. (Traum and Brantley) were taking care of these animals, all of them,” attorney Barton Hogreve said.

The fire was an accident, he said, and the couple kept the animals well fed and sheltered. He said firefighters, in their efforts to save the home, left it ransacked with holes in the wall.

FEW COMPLAINTS

In Brevard County, homeowners can have up to four dogs per residence, with no limit on cats.

Most of the county’s cities have adopted the same code with the exception of Titusville, which limits the number of total animals for homeowners to four.

Brevard County’s code enforcement authorities see five or fewer cases each year involving circumstances similar to Traum and Brantley's, according to Don Walker, county spokesman.

“What code enforcement will do, is if you have a complaint, we’ll go out and investigate and make sure the person is following the code," Walker said. "We’ll give you a certain amount of time to fix the violation and if you don’t, you’ll be cited and will go before a magistrate.”

Fines are also involved. The health department is not involved in such cases.

Brevard County Animal Services investigators responded to two complaints about animals at the couple’s home since 2015, according to sheriff's records. One of those involved the January fire.

County code enforcement officers have been to the home three times to investigate animal-related complaints. One complainant in December, listed as anonymous on county records, said Traum and Brantley had seven dogs inside the home and that it smelled bad. Another call dealt with someone reporting an unfounded claim of loose dogs in the area, records show. Code officers also were at the home in response to the fire.

Neighbors told FLORIDA TODAY that depending on which way the wind blew, the stench outside the home was unbearable.

“Oh God yes,” said Patty Cullen, peering through her door. “You’d smell the poop. It was strong. But you would smell the urine too,” she said.

A code enforcement officer went to the house in December in response to the complaint about the number of dogs and didn’t observe seven dogs, Walker said. There was, however, feces, like what would typically be found in a yard with pets.

Traum told the officer a service would be removing several trees in the backyard knocked down by Hurricane Matthew, so the dog feces could be removed after that.

The officer recommended Traum buy hydrated lime to spread over the yard to eliminate the foul stench, according to reports.

The officer was supposed to follow up on the issue on Jan. 12, but the fire brought him back to the property one day sooner.

Shortly after the remains of the animals were cleared from the burned-out home, code enforcement officers tacked a notice on the residence ruling it as unsafe and ‘a public nuisance.’

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HEARTBROKEN

Traum and Brantley said they want their surviving animals back, or at least be able to see them to make sure they are OK. They've not seen any and get no updates on their conditions.

“We loved our animals … all of them,” Traum told FLORIDA TODAY, tears streaming down her face. “This was a tragedy beyond belief, an accident. We just ask for everyone’s prayers ..."

Brantley said the couple worked hard to feed and care for all of their dogs.

"They were fat and happy," he said, voice choking with emotion. "They're making us out to be a bunch of bad people and we're not ... I'm torn up. I miss my dogs. I look at this picture every time I turn on this phone. I can give all of their names."

He recalled Duolly, 8, one of the Australian Shepherd survivors, whom he and Traum chose at a pet store. There was Winter, who is deaf, and his brother Cooper.

As Traum stood in front of her home, her salt-and-pepper hair glistening in the sun, she said she's emotionally devastated, not just at the prospect of going to court, but at losing so many of her beloved animals. She has no children.

“I’ve dedicated my life to them,” she said. "They are my family."

THE ANIMALS

Of the surviving animals, authorities turned over 11 Australian Shepherds to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter, where a veterinarian checked their conditions. The other four animals went to Brevard County Animal Services. All of the animals have since been adopted.

Once the court case is over, there's a possibility the couple could get four of the dogs back, as allowed by the county ordinance.

Some of the animals appeared to be under-socialized while relating to other animals outside of their group, including one dog that was so frightened it was sent to a specialist, said Susan Naylor, spokeswoman for the animal shelter.

“The Aussies weren’t the most we had. Last year we took in 18 cats and dogs involving one case,” Naylor said.

“Most of the owners in these cases have good intent. They just get in over their heads," she said. "I would say to anyone that if you see people hoarding, report it. We are willing to help take in animals that might be too much to handle."

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Concerned about your pets or the conditions of a neighbor's pets?

Contact: Brevard County Animal Control, 321-633-2024 or visit the website.

Talk With: Brevard County Code Enforcement, 321-633-2086, or visit the website.

Call: SPCA of Brevard, 321-269-0536 or visit the website.

Contact Gallop at 321-242-3642, jdgallop@floridatoday.com and Twitter at @JDGallop