Chillicothe police charged Olivia Dammann and Kathleen Yates with cruelty to animals. According to a police report, the landlord's son called police on May 8 after he found the eight Chihuahuas in the
garage at the home in the 100 block of N. High Street.
Police said one of the dogs was already dead in the cage.
Ross County Dog Warden Waneta Wellinghoff said the dogs have eye infections, sores on their legs from laying in filth, and are severely emaciated.
Wellinghoff also said that one of the dogs was found eating the deceased Chihuahua in the cage.
"The smell from the garage was ungodly. There was trash, debris, rotted food in the back of the garage," Wellinghoff said.
There was no answer at the home where the dogs were found when NBC4 attempted to contact the women for a response to the charges.
However, according to a police report, Dammann said she and her mother cared for the dogs which were fed every day, given water and exercised.
Wellinghoff said the dogs are being fed every three hours and are doing well considering the conditions they came from. The goal is to rehabilitate the dogs and eventually get them adopted.
However, adoption will not take place until the investigation is complete which could take between one month and one year according to the warden.
(NBC4i.com - May 12, 2013)
