Homeowner charged after police found dead cats, neglected dogs in Adams County home
ADAMS COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) – The discovery of three dead cats along with two neglected dogs in an Adams County home has led to animal cruelty charges.
Allison Ost, 27, of Fairfield, left the animals locked inside the house, alone, for weeks without adequate food or water, according to charges filed by Carrol Valley Police.
The Adams County SPCA posted on Facebook that the animals had been abandoned for six weeks and the two dogs, German shepherd mixes, were underweight when police recovered them. According to the SPCA’s post, the dogs were just skin and bones, and this one had difficulty walking.
The homeowner was checking the home on May 2 because the water hadn’t been used in a month and when they entered the home they found the dogs were emaciated and a cat was dead, according to a criminal complaint.
Police arrived at the home, located along Pine Hill Trail Road, and contacted Ost, who reported she had been in Pittsburg for a week, but neighbors told police they hadn’t seen her in weeks, charging documents show.
The dogs were in the backyard and escaped while police were on the phone with Ost, but neighbors were able to help police round them up. Neighbors said how “extremely emaciated” the dogs appeared to be, compared to when they had seen the animals before.
That’s when police say the SPCA was contacted to care for the emaciated dogs, named Mist and Teddy.
Police said they encountered “a large amount” of feces and a “strong odor” of urine when they entered the home through the basement door and furniture was torn up, according to the criminal complaint.
SPCA officials believed two of the deceased cats died of dehydration, while the other died of starvation. The cats were sent to the Pennsylvania State Veterinary Laboratory in Harrisburg for autopsies.
The criminal complaint states that police found an empty water bottle and two others filled with food.
While in the care of the SPCA, it was determined the dogs’ body score was 1 out of 10, they were dehydrated and one dog had conjunctivitis, police said.
Ost faces felony charges of aggravated animal cruelty and misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty and neglect.
Ost bonded out of the Adams County Jail after posting $7,500 bail on May 3 and awaits a preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
