A Centre County woman is facing criminal charges after more than three dozen dogs were removed from her home in March.
Denise A. Krape, 56, of Spring Township, was charged on Thursday with five misdemeanor and 42 summary counts of animal neglect for what the Centre County Sheriff’s Office said were 42 dogs found to be living in “deplorable” conditions.
Krape contacted Centre County Humane Officer Mark Rusnak in late February and asked to voluntarily surrender some of her dogs on March 13, according to an affidavit of probable cause. When asked how many dogs she had, Krape said “over 30,” Rusnak wrote.
Rusnak and fellow Humane Officer Devan Stoner went to Krape’s home on the 1200 block of Axemann Road and were taken to a fenced-in area, where six dogs had immediately noticeable flea infestations, skin irritations and missing fur, according to the affidavit. Large piles of garbage and debris were scattered throughout the property and “there was an overwhelming putrid odor emanating from the area as well,” Rusnak wrote.
Krape surrendered the six dogs and they were delivered to Centre County PAWS, where veterinarian reports confirmed each had fleas, urine and fecal matter on their bodies and four had missing or thinning fur and red, irritated skin, according to the affidavit.
The officers returned to Krape’s home with a search warrant on March 20 and immediately “noticed an overwhelming odor of dog feces and a strong ammonia-like smell” inside the residence, Rusnak wrote. Feces were observed covering the floor and on furniture throughout the home, according to the affidavit.
Another 36 small-breed dogs — 21 and 15 puppies — were seized by Rusnak and Stoner and voluntarily surrendered by Krape.
All were found to have flea infestations and had “not been provided access to clean and sanitary shelter,” Rusnak wrote. Five had injuries and other medical conditions requiring treatment, according to the affidavit.
Centre County PAWS executive director Lisa Bahr told the Centre County Board of Commissioners on March 31 that the nonprofit shelter and veterinary professionals provided each dog with medical assessments, vaccinations, bathing, nail clipping, flea treatment and when needed medical treatment. Each was also being spayed or neutered and microchipped.
It was clear none of the dogs had experience outside the home and needed to learn basic socialization skills.
Within a day, all of the dogs were placed in foster homes. They are recovering and “we’re seeing their personalities come through,” Bahr said.
“We really appreciate that that the position of humane society police officer was created, thanks in very large part to [the commissioners’] efforts,” Bahr said. “Without that, this would not have been possible. And the fact that now [Rusnak] has Officer Stoner working with him, I think is really essential to the community and a great decision and a great use of our funds.”
The commissioners approved a donation of $1,000 to support PAWS amid the large emergency intake.
“PAWS has been just a tremendous partner in providing a place for our humane officer to bring animals for them to be cared for, given veterinary checks and then very frequently being able to be placed with folks,” Commissioner Amber Concepcion said. “This was a really dramatic and heartbreaking kind of situation with the number of dogs that were in that home and the condition they were in. And so thank you for for all the work that you did, and just getting them into homes so quickly is really impressive and speaks to the generosity of our community in meeting those needs.”
Commissioner Steve Dershem lauded PAWS for stepping up “at a moment’s notice.”
“I think it’s a statement to what PAWS does and you stepping up to partner with us and partner with the sheriff’s department,” Dershem said.
Krape was charged via summons on Thursday. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 10.
