BUTLER COUNTY — The owner of a Butler County dog rescue where 90 living and at least 30 dead dogs were found last year has pleaded guilty to charges.
Ronda Murphy pleaded guilty to 12 counts of animal cruelty on Monday, according to Butler County Common Pleas Court records. Of the 12 counts, eight of them are felonies.
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As part of a plea agreement, 11 other counts were dismissed.
Murphy faces up to nine years in jail, according to court records. She’ll be sentenced in March.
As News Center 7 previously reported, Murphy was arrested in August after an investigation was opened into her dog rescue, “Helping Hands for Furry Paws” in Madison Twp. The investigation found that both adult dogs and puppies were being housed in various structures on two separate properties.
When deputies and investigators searched the structures, the dogs were found in “the most horrible conditions they have ever seen,” according to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.
The remains of at least 30 dogs were found in five different refrigerators and freezers on the properties, some of which were not working.
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Investigators said that one of the garages on the properties had over 25 dog cages, some of which had numerous dogs in them with urine and fecal matter and without food and water. The garage had no ventilation or air conditioning, and temperatures were around 89 degrees.
Eleven adult dogs were found in the main house with “unlivable” conditions.
“The odor was strong enough to burn their eyes and take away their breath. Conditions were so horrendous that Deputy Dog Wardens had to leave the structure numerous times to catch their breath,” the sheriff’s office said.
All dogs that were removed from the properties were taken to Animal Friends Humane Society of Butler County for treatment.