Sheriff: Dog rescue owner arrested after 30 dogs found dead in freezers at property

By Emily Sanderson

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    MADISON TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WLWT) — A woman has been arrested after 86 dogs were rescued from a home in Madison Township, where dozens more were found dead.

According to Sheriff Richard K. Jones, Ronda Murphy, 60, has been arrested on two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to a companion animal and one felony count of cruelty to a companion animal.

She is currently at the Middletown Jail pending an arraignment hearing.

As this investigation continues to unfold, more charges may be filed, Jones said.

Eighty-six dogs were rescued from the home, and dog wardens said the pups were living in the “most horrible conditions they have ever seen.”

Dozens more were found dead in freezers and refrigerators on property in Madison Township that the owner called an animal rescue, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office said.

The dogs that were rescued are now being cared for at the Animal Friends Humane Society in Hamilton.

They were living in filth and what the dog warden called “unlivable conditions.”

The sheriff’s office said more than two dozen were housed in cages in a garage where temperatures reached 89 degrees.

About 30 others were found dead in refrigerators or freezers, some that weren’t working.

The ones that were rescued were taken directly to AFHS.

If you add that to the 110 pups already in-house, Megan Poffenbarger, intake coordinator for AFHS, said this is the most amount of dogs they ever had in their facility at one time.

Neighbors said they have been complaining about the property and noise for the last year and were happy to see action being taken.

“In over 40 years, this is the worst case I have ever seen. This level of neglect and cruelty will never be tolerated in this county. If you mistreat animals like this, you will go to jail,” Jones said.

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