Officials remove 30 dogs from house

By Denise Dick

No charges have been filed, and the man voluntarily surrendered the animals.

BOARDMAN — About 30 dogs, including four litters of newborn puppies, were removed from an East Western Reserve Road home.

Police, agents from Animal Charity and a Mahoning County District Board of Health sanitarian were called to the home about 2 p.m. Monday.

“As soon as I got there, I knew that there were dogs inside,” said Joe Borosky, Animal Charity humane agent. “The smell was horrific.”

The home had been rented by a man who moved in about three weeks before with two adult relatives, the dogs and two birds.

Neighbors too had complained of the stench, officials said.

No charges have been filed.

Drew Stefan, health district sanitarian, said the carpeting, which had been installed prior to the renters moving in, had been destroyed. That was the only condition that made the home unsanitary.

The landlord and tenant agreed that the renter would replace the carpeting.

None of the neighbors reported seeing dogs outside, and Stefan said there was no evidence, such as dog feces in the yard, to show that the dogs were ever outside.

“The dogs were using the house as a toilet,” Borosky said.

The man had been evicted from a North Hartford Road house in Youngstown before moving to the Boardman home.

“He told us that when they moved from one house to the other was the only time they saw light,” Borosky said.

He said the man voluntarily turned over the animals, which appeared to be in good health. He doesn’t plan to file charges.

Borosky said he talked to the man, telling him that while no case of abuse or neglect existed, one was likely to develop with so many animals.

“He said it just got out of hand,” he said.

Fourteen of the dogs had to be euthanized, deemed too aggressive to be adoptable. All of the dogs are 40-pound to 55-pound shepherd mixes. Four adult dogs, the puppies and their mothers were taken to Animal Charity where they remain. The puppies and mothers will be available for adoption when the puppies get old enough and have been weaned.

denise_dick@vindy.com