PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A Greene County woman is facing charges after humane officers said they found two dogs malnourished in a home filled with feces.
According to court paperwork, the investigation began in October after the Humane Society of Greene County got an anonymous complaint about two dogs that were left unattended for days at a home on Bliss Avenue.
The criminal complaint says Pust told a humane officer that she fed the dogs daily but recently had been unable to after a stroke put her in the hospital. Pust promised to send the humane officer photos of the dogs but never did.
In December, the humane society said Pust’s landlord said the dogs had been abandoned, no one had come for days and water hadn’t been used at the home since at least the beginning of the month.
Officials describe “unsanitary conditions” inside home
Authorities told Pust to surrender her animals, but after they didn’t receive a response, humane officers and police executed a search warrant at the home.
Once opening the door, the humane officer wrote in the criminal complaint that there was “a strong odor of feces and urine, strong enough to burn this officer’s nose.” The home was covered in feces to the point where the humane officer said it was “difficult, often impossible, to take a step without treading in feces.”
Police said one of the dogs couldn’t stand without falling and the other quickly got tired and had to be carried.
“Both dogs were thin with easily visible ribs, spine and hips. Their fur smelled of feces and they had excessively long nails,” the humane officer wrote in court paperwork.
The only water authorities could find was in a toilet and there was no evidence of a current food source, investigators said.
Dogs malnourished and in “very poor” condition, vet says
The dogs were taken to Waynesburg Animal Hospital, where a veterinarian said both had a body composition score of 1 out of 9, which is the lowest possible, indicating extreme thinness, the criminal complaint says. The humane officer said both were diagnosed with suspected malnourishment and were assessed to be in very poor condition.
The vet also said the dogs had other health issues. One couldn’t walk and wouldn’t eat, and the other was very weak and had a skin infection, the humane officer said.
After receiving sustenance and water, officials said the dogs were walking and gaining significant weight.
Pust is facing multiple counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and neglect of animals.
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