A Clarks Summit couple was arrested this week after authorities found multiple starving and dehydrated animals abandoned in their trash-riddled home.
Anthony, 40, and Erin DeCicco face multiple charges of animal cruelty, animal neglect and felony aggravated cruelty to animals. They were arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Christopher Szewczyk on Tuesday.
A neighbor called Lackawanna County Humane Society Police Officer Marci Zeiler on June 6 to inform her of a dog and cat inside an abandoned home at 605 Meadow Lane. The neighbor told her the dog was in bad shape and crying.
When Zeiler arrived later that day, she detected an odor, heard two dogs crying, and saw bugs in the window pane and urine-stained curtains, Zeiler wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Neighbors informed her they would occasionally see someone at the home at night but hadn’t seen anyone there in at least three or four weeks.
Zeiler posted a notice on the home’s front door informing the owners to call her regarding the animals and whether they were abandoned. When she didn’t hear from them the following day, Zeiler arrived at the home with a search warrant. Upon entering, she was met with an odor of ammonia, feces and decomposition so strong, she had to return to her vehicle to put on a coverall and respirator mask, she wrote in the affidavit.
Inside, she found feces covering the floor and walls, and a deceased dog on the floor with bugs. Walking further through the house, Zeiler found an emaciated cat, as well as a beagle and husky, which had infected eyes. Zeiler wrote in the affidavit all three animals had to climb up piles of trash to reach her and ravenously ate or drank any food or water presented to them.
She brought them to an area shelter, where staff members placed them on a refeeding schedule to reintroduce them to food. Zeiler said in the affidavit that the husky, identified as Aspen, is using a harness to help her walk but continues to stumble and fall, while the beagle, identified as Lola, has been coughing and the cat, who is unidentified, has gained a pound in three days solely from being fed.
Zeiler determined the home and animals belonged to the DeCiccos by reviewing their social media accounts, which showed photos of the three living animals and deceased dog, identified as Bo, on their pages, and looking through property records. She couldn’t find another large hunting dog identified in the postings as Hank, and two other cats mentioned on the couple’s social media pages.
The couple was released on $25,000 bail each, with a preliminary hearing June 25.
Source Agencies
