Police Considering Animal Cruelty Charges After Raid Of Suspected Puppy Mill
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HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- Inside the fenced in yard of 41 Hamilton Acres Lane, police and humane officers - with a search warrant - were stunned to find more than 100 dogs unrestrained.
"They were free to roam the property and the houses as they wish," says Pennsylvania State Tpr. Robert Broadwater. "No one was living in the residence it appeared. It was abandoned residences that were made for gigantic dog houses."
Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone says, "There was feces everywhere. It was pretty deplorable conditions."
Most of the 108 dogs are German Shorthaired Pointers, like Normal Rockwell made famous in his hunting paintings and covers of "The Saturday Evening Post."
"Most of them are very friendly, they're just scared," says Asst. Humane Officer Mandy Coombs, of the Washington Area Humane Society. "They've never been on leashes before they've never socialized with people that much. So they need a lot of TLC."
The caretakers now looking after the dogs have named their after characters from the "Harry Potter" novels.
WATCH: KDKA's John Shumway Tours Shelter --
They are getting plenty of it from the volunteers and the vets who are doing the medical assessments and treating needs.
Police don't know who owns the dogs.
Tpr. Broadwater says there were two women on the property in Hopewell Township, Washington County, on Wednesday night when it was raided, but, "they were never detained, so that is still under investigation as well."
Once the ownership is determined, police are considering animal cruelty charges.
They are also trying to figure out if this was a puppy mill, even though, as Vittone points out, "We really don't have a puppy mill statute in Pennsylvania. We have kennel violations, which are akin to non-traffic summaries, almost like a traffic ticket."
State Rep. Jason Ortitay has a puppy mill bill pending.
"There are places that don't do it right. The animals live in filth, they're abused, and those are the places we are trying to shut down."
Meanwhile, the humane workers are trying to get the dogs to a point where adoptions are possible.
"We, more than likely, will need fosters," Coombs says. "We do foster to adopt, all of those kind of situations at the shelter."
Anyone interested in helping out with the expense of the dogs' shelter and care, or in adoption, can contact the Washington Area Humane Society. Visit their Facebook page here and their website here.
