Thurston County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested two men on suspicion of animal cruelty after finding dozens of animals in extremely poor conditions at their home last week.
Chad Jon Hamilton, 54, and Jason Eugene Veach, 51, appeared in Thurston County Superior Court on Monday.
Both of them have been accused of seven counts of first-degree animal cruelty and three counts of second-degree animal cruelty. Judge Mary Sue Wilson found probable cause for the alleged crimes before setting bail at $10,000 for Hamilton and $5,000 for Veach. Both have since posted bail and been released from the county jail.
Deputies executed a search warrant at their home on the 5800 block of 137th Lane SW on Friday morning, Aug. 15. Later that day, the Sheriff’s Office shared images from the scene near Maytown on Facebook. The images show a thin pig, chickens in cages and dirty scenes from the home, including a soiled kitchen.
In all, deputies seized one horse, two pigs, 17 dogs, 21 chickens, nine live cats and two dead cats.
“We are deeply grateful to Joint Animal Services and their dedicated volunteers with their Animal Cruelty Response Team, Hooved Animal Rescue of Thurston County, and the Thurston County Fairgrounds for stepping up to help provide safe shelter and care for these animals,” the Sheriff’s Office shared in their Facebook post.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Noelle Green asked the court to set bail at $10,000 for both Hamilton and Veach. She also noted that Hamilton has an active bench warrant for a 2015 driving under the influence case in Utah.
“When law enforcement arrived, the sheriff’s office indicated for Mr. Veach and Mr. Hamilton to come to the gate,” Green said. “Neither of them chose to respond to law enforcement. And prior to that, they had indicated that they were not rehoming any animals and they were not planning on rehoming any animals.”
Hamilton and Veach retained private counsel for the Monday hearing. Attorney Geordie Duckler said his clients are “responsible” citizens with “strong connections” to the local community.
“These are not violent crimes or crimes against a person, regardless of the state’s laundry listing of the number of animals involved,” Duckler said.
Duckler said neither of them pose a threat to anyone, including law enforcement, and they understand the seriousness of these allegations.
He said the two of them merely asserted their Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights when they didn’t respond to deputies at their door. They cooperated once deputies entered the home and found them, he added.
A probable cause statement describes the investigation into Hamilton and Veach from the perspective of law enforcement.
Joint Animal Services planned to check on the animals on Aug. 14. Hamilton and Veach informed JAS officials that they hired an attorney and JAS or law enforcement were no longer welcome on their property.
The homeowners also stated they did not rehome any animals and did not plan to.
Later that day, deputies flew a drone over the property above the “minimum standard ceiling” which is considered public airspace, according to the statement.
The next morning, a deputy applied for and was granted a search warrant by Judge Wilson to enter the property and seize all animals.
Deputies and animal control responded to the property and attempted to contact Hamilton and Veach with sirens and yelling. Neither of them responded, so deputies broke their gate lock and entered the property.
The deputies found Hamilton and Veach in a tent on the property and directed them to sit on the driveway for the duration of the search. Both of them complied.
Several dogs were loose on the property. The first house on the site housed 2 pigs, chickens and several cats.
“The pigs were in terrible shape,” the statement says. “One was confined to a bedroom with no food or water. The feces were coating the floor. The pig was extremely malnourished and thin. The pig’s backbone was very prominent. The walls appeared as if the pig had started to eat them due to a lack of food.”
The statement indicates the walls had bite marks and dry wall was missing. Additionally, the door was barricaded by large amounts of trash, crates and even a nest of chicken eggs.
The second pig roamed the main part of the house with loose and caged chickens. There was also a bedroom with three cats. None of the animals had food or water.
A back house contained the remaining cats, including two dead ones. These cats also had no food or water, and the house was covered in feces.
A horse on the property had access to water and grass on the ground, but it appeared thin and its feet were long and unkempt, causing it to walk abnormally.
Many dogs were found in small cages with water bowls filled with shavings. There was no food in the cages. The dogs appeared thin and some had skin infections.
A vet had previously examined the dogs and horse. That vet told Hamilton and Veach that the animals needed veterinarian care, but they evidently did not receive care.
Many of the birds, pigs and cats were not observed during an initial house visit because they were kept inside the two uninhabitable homes on the property.
Hamilton and Veach refused to speak with law enforcement and both were booked into the county jail.
© 2025 The Olympian (Olympia, Wash.). Visit www.theolympian.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
