ANSONIA – Police charged three women with animal cruelty Monday, five months after more than 40 animals were removed from a home on Schumacher Drive.
April Pardy, 43, and her children Alexis Otero, 23, and Alana Otero, 20, were served with arrest warrants Sept. 7 charging them each with one count of animal cruelty. All three women are listed as now living in West Haven.
On April 23, law enforcement used a search warrant to raid a residence on Schumacher Drive where police said the three women lived (although one of the women said she did not live there). Police had received reports about unsanitary living conditions in the residence.
According to court documents, police struggled to open the home’s front door due to a buildup of debris and dog feces in the entryway.
“Officers were immediately overwhelmed by a strong odor of animal feces and urine, despite wearing N95 masks, causing several officers to gag,” an arrest warrant says.
Police allegedly found more garbage strewn throughout the home, including soiled diapers, dog feces and empty pizza boxes.
Officers found 39 dogs in the home.
Some of the dogs had fur matted with feces and urine and nails so long they struggled to walk, according to the warrant. Police confiscated the dogs, along with three ferrets.
However, the dogs were in fairly healthy condition overall, according to veterinary evaluations done afterward.
“Considering the conditions of the house the dogs were in good condition, no hair loss, no skin conditions, no ear infections and appeared that the dogs were a good weight,” the warrant says.
Animal control officers later gave four of the dogs back to the family, along with the ferrets. Some of the other dogs were placed in rescues between Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Ansonia police Lt. Alexander Barreira said the animal cruelty charges were lodged because of the unsanitary living conditions. It took time to coordinate the investigation, which included personnel from the state Department of Children and Families.
Animal owners are required by law “to provide an animal with proper care and to supply such animal with wholesome air, food, and water,” the warrant says.
The arrests means police established probable cause to make arrests. It’s the start of the judicial process, not the end.
Three juveniles were in the residence.
The children were taken to the hospital to be evaluated. April Pardy and Alana Otero were charged in May with three counts each of risk of injury to a child. Those charges are pending, according to the state judicial website.
On the animal cruelty charges, the three women are scheduled to appear at Superior Court in Derby Sept. 21.