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Man gets three years probation in animal cruelty case

SEWICKLEY — A Sewickley man was sentenced to three years probation after pleading guilty to neglecting several animals at his Hermine home in 2019.

Karl Kuhn, 45, pleaded guilty to eight misdemeanor offenses in connection with 29 rabbits, two goats, three ducks, three cats, one chicken and a dog found living in unsanitary conditions in a garage and outside area.

According to court records, humane officers said, despite the unsanitary environment, the animals were not immediately at risk of death and issued a 10-day warning that required to Kuhn and a woman he lived with at the home, Nicole Marzole, 41, of Sewickley, to make improvements to the animals’ living conditions, according to our partners at the Trib.

Investigators returned to the home on May 31 and found no improvements other than a standing fan that was placed in the garage but was not in use.

Humane officers seized most of the animals on June 3, according to court records.

Both Kuhn and Marzole were charged with 61 offenses.

As part of the sentence, Kuhn was barred from having any animals in his care during his period of supervision and was ordered to pay more than $154,000 in restitution to the humane society and another organization, Rabbit Wranglers, which treated and cared for the animals.

Marzole is awaiting trial on all 61 counts of animal neglect. Her trial is tentatively scheduled to begin in May.