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Homeowner Charged After 4 Dead Dogs Found In Beechview House

PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) – Police have charged owner of a Beecvhiew home where four dead dogs and an extremely malnourished one were found.

Public safety officials in Allegheny County said Sunday that 25-year-old Taura Krill McCormick faces five counts of animal cruelty and one count of harboring a nuisance.

Police say the dogs were found in the 200-block of Sebring Avenue Friday afternoon.

Neighbors say when the owner of the home moved out months ago, they assumed she took her dogs. But a water service worker told neighbors he smelled a foul odor when he came to shut the water off.

"He said there are flies all over the door trying to get in and that he said there's a smell of death," said one neighbor who didn't want to be identified.

Inside the home, police found the remains of two pit bull puppies, a small terrier and a lab-greyhound mix.

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An ematiated dog is found clinging to life inside a Beechview home. (Photo Credit: Bryan Orr/KDKA)

They also found an emaciated pit bull clinging to life and say it "will hopefully be nursed back to health."

"It's a little disturbing," said another neighbor, "I mean, she was known to rescue animals, I mean that was her thing, she rescued all of the dogs."

Joy Braunstein runs the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society. She says they're an open-door shelter and would have accepted the animals.

"We're equipped to provide medical care to provide food and to try and get the animals adopted out to homes that can love them and take care of them," she said.

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(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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