By Matt Clevenger
TROY — Tenants at a South Union Street home where more than 30 dogs were removed last week have been charged with animal cruelty.
“In terms of the condition of the home, and the environment the dogs were living in, it’s probably the worst I’ve seen,” Miami County Animal Shelter Director Robert Craft said.
Charles Farmer, 48, and Marie Davis, 53, of Troy, have been charged with eight counts each of committing acts of cruelty- prohibitions concerning companion animals, in connection with the removal of 32 dogs from their home in the 500 block of South Union Street on Tuesday, April 4.
Representatives from the Miami County Health Department have also condemned the home.
The property’s owner, Evan Brumbaugh, filed for eviction of the tenants on Wednesday, March 15. The tenants have filed a counter claim in that case denying responsibility for the home’s current condition and seeking a minimum of $25,000 in punitive damages from the property owner.
“All the dogs were evaluated by Dr. Davis of Troy Animal Hospital on Thursday, April 6,” Craft said. “Some notes from his examination included flea dermatitis, ear infections, dental disease, open wounds, and lymphoma mass.”
The animal shelter is also seeking donations to help with the expense of caring for the 32 dogs.
“All the dogs will be available for adoption once they are spayed and neutered,” Craft said. “We are working with our veterinarian partners to make this process happen as quickly as possible. As they are spayed and neutered and come available for adoption, we will put them on our website at www.miamicountyohio.gov.”
“People can also sign-up to receive email updates if they wish, at the same website address,” he said.
The animal shelter worked with the Troy Prosecutor’s Office to determine how many charges were filed, Craft said.
“Homes that are zoned as residential within the city limits of Troy are required to not have more than 3 dogs,” he said. “I can only speculate based on our conversations with the suspects that they took dogs in over the two-year period they were living in the home. None of the dogs were spayed or neutered, so they repopulated within the home until it obviously became unmanageable.”
“The dogs appeared to be being kept in all the rooms of the home,” Craft said. “They appeared to be separated into groups and locked into different rooms.”
“Most of the dogs appeared to be of a healthy weight and dog food was in the home,” he said. “It appeared as though the dogs were not being let out to use the restroom, as there was a large amount of feces on the floor and a very strong smell of urine/ammonia. All the dogs had fleas, and we could see bugs on the walls of the home.”
Farmer and Davis are scheduled for arraignment on Tuesday, April 18.
“I can only speculate, based on my conversation with them that people would bring them dogs that they couldn’t keep and they would take them in,” Craft said. “They lacked the necessary resources to be able to provide the dogs with proper veterinary care.”
“Over time, despite the good intentions they may have had, the situation grew out of hand,” he said.
