A Canal Township couple were formally charged Thursday in connection with an animal cruelty case in which more than 50 dogs were rescued from a trailer home in December.
Barbara Ferguson, 71, and Sam Lopez, 75, are facing a combined 632 charges ranging from felony animal cruelty counts to violations of licensing and veterinary care requirements.
The Dec. 10, 2018, rescue at the home was conducted by Venango County sheriff’s deputies, state dog wardens, the Venango County Animal Response Team and volunteers from the A.N.N.A. Shelter (Association for Needy and Neglected Animals) in Erie.
Rescue personnel found the dogs severely emaciated and dehydrated in what A.N.N.A. kennel manager Brooke Conner described as some of the worst conditions she has seen in her eight years with the shelter.
Conner said that over the following five months, shelter staff and veterinarians supplied the Venango County district attorney’s office with as much data as possible on each of the dogs in an effort to build the strongest case possible.
Conner said Friday that all but two of the dogs were adopted. The two dogs not adopted are in foster care.
“They were the ones that are the most unsocialized,” Conner said. “They’re not mean, but if they became fearful enough, they could have potential to bite somebody.”
“The ones that were inside the house had never been outside,” Conner said. “They had only been exposed to the two people in the house and were living in deplorable conditions.”
Conner said that of the 51 dogs rescued, about 10 gave birth to puppies and all of them have been adopted as well.
Lopez’s 340 charges include 10 felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals-torture, 10 felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals causing serious bodily injury or death, multiple misdemeanor charges of cruelty and neglect to animals, as well as numerous summary charges for violations of animal vaccination and kennel requirements.
Ferguson faces most of the same charges, totaling 292.
