Ohio: Rachel Creek, 22, charged with animal cruelty in "Rescue 62" case

OHIO -- A Blacklick woman has been charged with animal cruelty in a case involving 62 dogs and puppies that were rescued earlier this year.

Rachel Creek, 22, was charged Tuesday with three counts of cruelty to companion animals, all second-degree misdemeanors.

According to court records, the Licking County humane agent was sent to a residence on the 3600 block of Johnstown-Utica Road in mid-April. When the agent arrived, multiple puppies were found to be running around the property and without proper access to water.

Creek reportedly told the humane agent she was co-director of One Mission Dog Rescue and the property belonged to her boyfriend.

The other co-director said she did not know how many puppies and dogs were on the property. She is not facing any charges.

Nearly all of the dogs came from West Virginia, Kentucky or Ross County, according to court records.

The group of dogs became known as “Rescue 62” because of the number of dogs and the location of the rescue being on U.S. 62.

Creek was reportedly not accurate in giving the humane agent and other authorities medical information on the dogs.

The dogs and puppies were taken to the Licking County Humane Society. Within two weeks of the seizure of the dogs, seven had died, with six of those deaths being related to parvo.

Lori Carlson, executive director of the Humane Society, said the filing of the animal cruelty charges is a positive development.

“She certainly needs to be held accountable for the condition these animals were in when they came to us,” Carlson said. “This county expects a certain level of humane care for animals and clearly, the animals were not receiving the level of care.”

Creek was charged in early May with 40 minor misdemeanor counts of failing to register a dog more than three months old and nine counts of failure to confine a dog, all minor misdemeanors.

Creek entered guilty pleas to all 49 of those counts and was ordered to pay $120 in court costs and a $25 fine on each count, for a total of $1,345.

Creek is scheduled to appear in court for the new charges on June 16. If found guilty, she could face a 90-day jail sentence and $750 maximum fine.

Carlson said 14 of the dogs from the Rescue 62 group have yet to be adopted. Four of those dogs are going to another rescue and 10 are still available for adoption.

(Newark Advocate - June 3, 2015)