Nearly 150 dead dogs were discovered at the Ohio home of an animal rescue organization’s founding operator, a local humane society said.
The grim finding came Friday at a residence in Mantua, according to the Portage Animal Protective League. A search occurred after the animal protective league says it learned of a pending animal cruelty charge against the homeowner in a different jurisdiction.
“Inside the home, the Humane Agent discovered 146 deceased dogs in varying stages of decay,” reads the animal protective league’s announcement Monday. “No dogs were found alive. Many of the dogs were found confined within their crates.”
The announcement did not release names but said the homeowner is “known to be a founding operator” of the nonprofit shelter Canine Lifeline. Records show the home’s owner, Barbara Wible, is Canine Lifeline’s president, according to the Cleveland news station WKYC.
Authorities plan to conduct necropsies to determine the dogs’ causes of death.
A neighbor told WKYC he had not heard from the home’s owner in six to eight months.
“She just left. Not a care in the world,” Jon Collier told the TV outlet. “I don’t know who could do that or why she would do that, but just to leave them and not even have food or water.”
On Monday, Canine Lifeline wrote on Facebook that its volunteers were “shocked, horrified and confused to learn of the devastating revelations.” The organization said Wible was hospitalized June 2 after collapsing in her home.
“After first responders reported to her home in response to this medical emergency, an investigation was triggered that has uncovered overwhelming evidence of ongoing fatal animal neglect in both her current Parma residence as well as her former home in Mantua,” Canine Lifeline wrote.
“No volunteers were aware of any medical conditions that Wible had been diagnosed with prior to this most recent hospitalization, nor were any aware of the number of dogs she harbored, nor the condition of her home. Please know that the volunteers of Canine Lifeline are grieving this tragedy and are cooperating with the appropriate authorities.”
Mantua is about 40 miles southeast of Cleveland.