YUKON, Pa.,None — A man whose three dogs were found dead at his home in Yukon, Westmoreland County, arrived at the property as humane officers were removing the carcasses on Tuesday.
Neighbors said they reported the abuse to the Humane Society and they're upset nothing was done until it was too late.
Humane officers said they checked out the residence after getting the complaints but that the dogs appeared to be inside the home at the time.
"We've been calling the Humane Society for three months about the starving dogs," neighbor Tara Smith said. "They said they've come out and checked and that they looked fine. I told them they weren't looking at the same dogs I was, that are starving to death. There's about six of us calling, and they said there's nothing they can do."
As the landlord and humane officers were in the house, the renter, Bruce Swank, showed up.
"So what happened to the dogs? They weren't very well taken care of because my fiancee was having complications with her baby and we were down at Children's Hospital for about two weeks," Swank said.
When asked why he didn't have someone else care for them, Swank could not give Channel 11 News an answer.
Two dogs were found dead in the back yard of the Highway Street home on Monday and one in the front yard.
Officials said one dog was tied to a porch on a two-foot chain. Another was inside a dog house and the third was inside a shed, authorities said.
Neighbors said the owner, who moved in about eight months ago, had been gone for at least three weeks.
Police said Swank and a relative who also lived in the home will both face charges of animal cruelty.
• Email Newsletter: Get The Latest News Sent To Your Email! • Mobile: Get WPXI Headlines On Your Phone, iPhone, More • RSS: Add Us To Your Page!
WPXI
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
