Police: Pa. shelter owner told ‘sleeping’ dogs lie

Police: Pa. shelter owner told ‘sleeping’ dogs lie

MCKEES ROCKS, Pa. (AP) — State police say the owner of a Pittsburgh-area animal shelter stole more than $37,000 in state funds by telling a “sleeping” dogs lie.

The agency’s organized crime unit says 74-year-old Bernard Dudash collected the money from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture for dogs he claimed to put to sleep, which never existed.

Online court records don’t list an attorney for Dudash who owns Triangle Pet Control Services in McKees Rocks, and didn’t immediately return a message left at the business Friday.

The Beaver County Times reports Dudash’s company provides pet control services for several southwestern Pennsylvania communities and that he’s paid $30 for each dog euthanized. Police say Dudash collected $37,384 between July 2007 and April 2011 by filing false reports seeking reimbursements.

He’s charged with theft by deception and tampering with records.