'Horrific:' Owner of Portage home where 146 dead dogs were found faces 26 criminal charges
The owner of a Mantua Township home where 146 dogs were found dead is now facing 26 misdemeanor charges in Portage County.
More: Happy ending for Wren: Dog rescued in animal cruelty case with Portage ties gets new home
Barbara Wible, president and co-founder of Canine Lifeline, was charged with 25 counts of prohibitions concerning companion animals on Monday, with an additional charge filed Tuesday.
The first-degree misdemeanor charges stem from the lack of care and deaths of the 146 dogs discovered earlier this month inside her Portage County home, according to the Portage Animal Protective League.
The APL said it has "strategically elected to prosecute these offenses as the highest level of misdemeanor in the hopes of obtaining justice for these dogs in an expedited manner." Misdemeanors are generally processed faster than felonies.
Wible, 68, is hospitalized with terminal cancer, so "any conviction or punishment obtained in this case against Wible will likely be symbolic only," the APL stated.
Canine Lifeline also has been charged with 25 counts of prohibitions concerning companion animals, also first-degree misdemeanors
The APL said the charged are related to "the nonprofit’s substantial lapse of due care, its negligence, that caused the neglect and ultimate deaths of the 146 rescue dogs."
Canine Lifeline has released a statement denying knowledge about the situation and indicating it is cooperating with authorities. But the Portage APL said it hasn't received any communication from the organization's remaining board members.
“The needless suffering that these dogs endured is beyond comprehension," Portage APL Executive Director Chalan Lowry said. "They deserve justice and the Portage Animal Protective League believes that even symbolic justice is justice. We will pursue Barbara Wible’s case expeditiously in an attempt to ensure that these dogs get their day in court.”
Portage APL had been investigating Mantua Township property since July 2022
The APL stated its Humane Investigations Department has been investigating the Mantua Township property since July 2022, when the agency received a tip about dogs being kept in a van.
The humane agent visited the property and found a van containing numerous dogs, according to the APL. The agent talked to Wible, who said the dogs were Canine Lifeline Inc. dogs that were "pulled from Kentucky."
Wible told the agent that she has cancer and no longer planned to operate the rescue after October, according to the APL. She supplied veterinary and other records for the dogs, and the dogs appeared to be healthy and up to date on their medical care.
Wible did not allow the agent inside the home, stating that there were four dogs inside and her mother lived in the home. The agent, the statement said, could see the dogs in the upstairs window of the home, and they also appeared to be healthy.
The agent told Wible that the dogs in the van must have water in their crates and that she would return the next day to evaluate the situation. The next day, Wible said she had moved the four dogs out of the house and into pens. She immediately offered to surrender the four dogs to the APL, and the agent could not see or hear any other dogs in the home.
She ultimately surrendered 39 dogs to the APL through early August 2022.
'This could have been avoided': Complaint filed year before 146 dead dogs found in Portage
In early August 2022, the agent returned to the her home for a follow-up visit. Wible told the agent that she had potential adopters for the remaining dogs and was unwilling to surrender any more dogs.
The agent visited the property more than 10 times between August 2022 and June 2023 to attempt to connect with Wible and ensure that the dogs had been adopted, the APL stated.
She never responded to any of the agent's notices after the August 2022 meeting, according to the agency. The van was removed, and the home appeared to be vacant and in disarray. No further tips were received about the Mantua Township home.
'Horrific discovery' inside Portage County home
The APL stated that the agent's most recent visit to the property was June 5.
The follow-up visit was unrelated to an investigation in Parma, where an animal control officer found a total of 36 dogs, included 12 that were dead and two others that later needed to be euthanized at an emergency veterinary clinic. Wible is facing a fifth-degree felony animal cruelty in Cuyahoga County.
Because the Portage County humane agent did not have probable cause to believe that there were dogs inside the home, or even that anyone was living there, the agent was unable to obtain a search warrant until June 15, when the tip was received about the animal cruelty charge in Parma.
At that time, the agent made the "horrific discovery" of the 146 "deceased, decomposed dogs," according to the APL.
"Although the dogs’ individual causes of death remain to be determined by necropsy (animal autopsy), it is clear that the dogs did not die humanely or as a result of euthanasia," the APL's statement reads.
Happy ending for Wren: Dog rescued in animal cruelty case with Portage ties gets new home
Lowry said the APL has received many tips since the story first broke.
“This is also a good time to remind folks to report abuse or cruelty immediately to local law enforcement or humane society agent if you suspect someone.” Lowry said.
The investigation remains active and additional charges may be pursued.
Anyone with knowledge or details about the investigation is asked to contact Humane Agent Holly Ebner at humaneofficer@portageapl.org.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Owner of Portage home where 146 dogs found dead faces 26 misdemeanors