SCIOTO COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) – A woman faces charges after 20 dead dogs were found at a house in Sciotoville.
Wendy Payton, an animal control officer with the Portsmouth City Health Department, says she arrived Thursday at the home along Sycamore Street to do a wellness check after a neighbor reported a bad odor.
She says no one answered at the front or back door, and the back door was open. She called an officer to the scene to help investigate.
Payton calls what they found inside the worst case of animal abuse she’s ever seen.
They found 20 dead dogs inside, along with 15 live ones in poor condition. Several of the dead dogs were found in cages.
The dogs are all either German shepherds or shepherd mixes.
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The woman who lives at the house, Samantha Damron, was also found inside. She’s facing charges of animal cruelty and neglect and has been taken to the Portsmouth City Jail, Payton says. She added that she talked with Damron about how it got to this point, and Damron said she just felt overwhelmed. Payton also said Damron didn’t show any emotion.
Some of the live dogs have been taken to the Scioto County dog shelter. A neighbor is keeping five dogs in his yard until they can be transported to the shelter.
Payton says animal rescue groups will be picking the dogs up from the shelter later.
The house has been condemned.
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