A former East Deer man is facing multiple counts of animal cruelty and neglect charges after he left three dogs to die, according to the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office.
Christopher J. Edmunds, 30, was apprehended Tuesday evening at his job, about five minutes from the township house where the dogs were abandoned.
According to the criminal complaint, deputies an official from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency went to evict Edmunds from his home along West Eighth Avenue in East Deer around 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, April17.
Deputies reported the smell of dog dung emanating from the property and could hear several dogs barking.
The complaint states deputies reached Edmunds by phone, and he told them there were three dogs in the house.
He told them he was “in a bad way and unable to take care of his animals,” court documents read.
Edmunds said he left food and water for the dogs on April 10, a week before the eviction.
Allegheny Valley Police referred deputies to Hoffman Kennels, which the department uses for animal removal.
The complaint states deputies made entry into the home and were met by a long-haired white dog. The dog did not appear to be in poor health, but was covered in feces, according to the complaint.
Deputies said the home was in deplorable condition with dog feces, urine and garbage covering the entire residence. A pile of dog food was located in the middle of the floor upstairs but no water was visible.
Deputes also made contact with two rottweilers in a basement, which was also in deplorable condition, and determined them to not be dangerous. Those dogs also did not appear to be in poor health, but were covered in feces, court documents read.
Deputies took the white dog to Animal Friends in Ohio Township and the other two dogs to Big Easy Dog Daze in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood.
Edmunds was transported to the Allegheny County Jail. He is charged with six counts of animal cruelty and 13 counts of neglect of animals, according to online court documents.
Michael DiVittorio is a TribLive reporter covering general news in Western Pennsylvania, with a penchant for festivals and food. He can be reached at mdivittorio@triblive.com.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
