Four charged with animal cruelty in Greene
Four people are accused of aggravated animal cruelty and related crimes after they allegedly kept dozens of animals — some of which were found dead — in filthy conditions without adequate food in Greene County.
Charges were filed Friday with Judge Thomas Ankrom against Timothy Cook, 21, of Marianna; Patricia Brungardt, 51, and Streame Chrest, 24, both of Creekside; and Thomas Brungardt, 44, of Derry.
The investigation dates back to February, when a state police trooper from the Waynesburg barracks was called to a garage in Cumberland Township where a dead dog was found inside a towed vehicle.
The vehicle, which troopers noted to have a “foul odor of decomposition, feces and urine,” also contained a dead snake, as well as two additional dogs, nine cats, an iguana and a bird, court documents said.
Police traced the vehicle back to a location on Seven Creeks Road in Morgan Township, where they found additional vehicles containing animals owned by either the Brungardts or Cook and Chrest, who were staying there in a van, according to the complaints.
In all, troopers seized 24 cats, 13 dogs and three quail at the Seven Creeks Road site, the complaint said. One of the quails was dead.
Troopers said the animals had been kept in “deplorable conditions,” with no fresh water for the animals confined in crates and cages, and litter boxes full of excrement with no clean litter.
Necropsies of the dead animals found evidence of long-term neglect of veterinary care and malnourishment, as well as trauma to the chest of one of the dogs, the complaints said.
All four face charges of aggravated animal cruelty; neglecting to provide veterinary care, shelter, sustenance; and numerous summary citations for cruelty, neglect, failure to vaccinate against rabies and license a dog over three months of age.
They had yet to be arraigned as of Monday afternoon.