Prosecutor files charges in 119 dog hoarding case

GLORIA GLENS, Ohio - Prosecutors filed charges Monday against a woman and her daughter after 119 dogs were found  in their home.

THE SPCA of Medina County also said that the process of putting some of the dogs up for adoption will begin on Thursday.

The dogs and puppies were taken from a house on Dawnshire Drive in the Village of Gloria Glens, near Chippewa Lake on Friday and Saturday after a search warrant was issued. Four of the dogs were dead. The rest are being treated at the Medina County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

On Sunday, five more puppies were born, bringing the dog total to 124 rescued.

The prosecutor charged the woman who lived in the house, Glenda Curtis, 54, with 20 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. Curtis' daughter, 27-year-old Danielle Tschappat, also faces 20 counts of animal cruelty. Neither woman will be arrested, but they will be subpoenaed to appear in Wadsworth Municipal Court.

SPCA prosecutor Jeff Holland said the maximum penalty for the women, if convicted, would be 18 months in jail and a $4,500 fine. Holland said the 20 charges were based on groupings of dogs found in cages and rooms.

"We can count on the courts in Medina County to be quite strict and tough on animal cruelty offenders. I think that the judges here know very well what it means," Holland said.

Humane officer Mary Jo Johnson said that garbage and feces were piled as high as two feet around the dogs and their cages on the first floor.

"It's the worst thing I've ever seen and I was amazed at once we got inside how many animals were in there," Johnson said.

Some of the dogs have bite marks. Many of them have worms. Workers and volunteers have been cleaning the animals and contacting veterinarians so the dogs can get vaccinations.

No one answered the door on Saturday afternoon when a NewsChannel5 crew stopped at the home.

"She started out trying to be a breeder and sell them for money and it got out of hand," Johnson said.

On Wednesday, the Medina SPCA is going to post many of the animals on its website and will begin adopting them out on Thursday. Check out the organization's website here: http://www.medinacountyspca.com

The adoptions will take place starting at 10 a.m. Thursday at the PetSmart on Grande Boulevard in Medina.

The SPCA said there has been media interest from around the world in the case.