Taten Whitlock

Name:
Whitlock, Taten Shiref

Date of Booking:
03/12/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
CRUELTY TO ANIMALS – 20 Counts

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

On March 11th, 2026, at approximately 2252 hours, I was dispatched to [100 BLOCK] Moore Street in reference to a dog fight.

Upon my arrival, I contacted the complainant/caller, [VICTIM #1] and the owner of the other dog, Alisha Whitlock. [VICTIM #1] stated Whitlock’s white Pitbull mix, named Buddy, started a fight with the dog that she’s been taking care of. [VICTIM #1] stated she observed Whitlock’s dog pin the brown dog, named Melo, against the fence by its neck. [VICTIM #1] also stated that Melo had previous injures from being struck by a vehicle in the neighborhood. Lastly, [VICTIM #1] added that she has contacted law enforcement numerous times regarding Whitlock’s animals getting out of the house and attacking other dogs.

Afterwards, I spoke with Whitlock regarding her dog and she stated Buddy was placed on a leash outside of the residence due to her about to leave the location. Whitlock stated Buddy has been roaming throughout the neighborhood and she doesn’t currently know his location. By this time, I looked back and noticed a white Pitbull mix matching the above description running from underneath Whitlock’s house. Whitlock then called the dog in which it ran up to her. Whitlock then grabbed Buddy and placed him in her vehicle awaiting Baldwin County Animal Control to arrive.

While looking inside the vehicle, I noticed Buddy had blood around the bottom of his mouth down to his neck. He also had visible injures on his nose. Additionally, I also noticed that Buddy was moderately malnourished. When asked, Whitlock stated she currently had two dogs. Furthermore, Whitlock also stated she didn’t want me to go to her residence due to her kids being asleep.

Upon Animal Control’s arrival, I contacted Officer knee Whiddon who was informed about the incident. Officer Whiddon stated that she was familiar with Whitlock and currently had an open investigation with her and her husband, Taten Whitlock. Officer Whiddon then spoke with [VICTIM #1] regarding Melo and observed the visible injures. Officer Whiddon then spoke with me and advised that Melo currently has minor injures and aren’t life-threatening nor in need of immediate care. Afterwards, Officer Whiddon and Whitlock spoke separately in which Officer Whiddon observed Buddy being moderately malnourished. Eventually, Officer Whiddon advised me that she was going to go down to Whitlock’s residence and that Whitlock stated she had approximately 6 dogs and asked if we could stand by while she was going inside to conduct her investigation.

Sergeant Maine Chambers and I went to Whitlock’s residence, located at [100 BLOCK] Moore Street and awaited for Officer Whiddon to finish. Once Officer Whiddon completed the home inspection, she described to Sergeant Chambers and I that there’s holes in the floor, furniture damaged, dried animal feces on the floor and a strong smell of urine. Officer Whiddon also stated she needed to contact her supervisor and inform her of the issue. While speaking with Officer Whiddon, I heard a male yelling and items falling, as if, a domestic incident was occurring. Sergeant Chambers and I knocked on the door and asked both Alisha and Taten to come outside while Officer Whiddon was on the phone with her supervisor.

I then spoke with Taten, who stated everything was good. Taten stated their dogs aren’t friendly toward new people. Taten stated he was just concerned about our safety and didn’t want any of the animals to get out. Taten even advised Sergeant Chambers and I that their dogs aren’t violent towards people. Taten eventually told us the different breed the dogs are as well. When asked, Taten stated that he and Alisha raised all their dogs. Taten stated that there are approximately four generations of dogs inside of the house when inquiring about the total.

While speaking with Taten, two dogs came from underneath the house where they’ve escaped from the hole inside of the house. When asked, Taten stated the hole came from an unfinished job and that there were wires hanging down. Taten also stated that it was in the master bathroom and not their kids which is located on the opposite side of the house where it was safer.

Finally, I spoke with Officer Whiddon again who was able to record a video of the interior of the residence. Officer Whiddon stated that Alisha advised her that their kids don’t stay at location but stay with her mother. Officer Whiddon also stated that there were newborn puppies which were thin. Officer Whiddon stated majority of the dogs were malnourished as I observed on the video. Officer Whiddon stated she counted approximately 20 dogs during her inspection. Officer Whiddon then contacted her employees who then responded to the location.

Sergeant Chambers eventually contacted Lieutenant Ryan Chapple and informed him of the incident. Afterwards, Sergeant Chambers and I placed Taten and Alisha under arrest. Both were transported to the Baldwin County LEC without further incident.

Lieutenant Chapple arrived and contacted the on-call detective, Lieutenant January, about the incident and requested assistance. The scene was then turned over to Lieutenant January on his arrival. A search warrant was executed on the residence and Officer Whiddon informed us that a total of 29 dogs were confiscated.

[End of Narrative]