By JOHN BORGOLINI
The Leader-Herald
MAYFIELD - Authorities found three dead dogs and 34 live dogs in a house at 395 Progress Road on Tuesday.
Article Photos
Caitlin Hart, daughter of Town of Johnstown Animal Control Officer Nancy Hart, washes one of the dogs found at a Progress Road home in the town of Mayfield Tuesday. She was helping with the rescue of the animals at the home.
The Leader-Herald/Bill Trojan
The tenant, who was evicted several days earlier, owns the dogs, and she continued to keep ownership of the surviving dogs after bringing them to a groomer in Gloversville on Tuesday, said Town Dog Warden Jane Potts. Authorities have filed no charges against the woman.
Potts said the town cannot take the animals away from the woman because they still legally belong to her.
A Fulton County Sheriff's Department official said Tuesday the case is still under investigation.
"The owner will not relinquish [the dogs] to us," Potts said. "That's as far as we can go. Our hands are tied."
Authorities did not name the owner of the animals.
The owner of the property, Joe Adamkoski, said he went into the house March 20 responding to the tenant's request to take a water sample and noticed 19 dog cages in the house.
On Tuesday, he said, he found two dead puppies on the first floor and a dead adult dog in the basement that had maggots on it.
"I had no idea it would be this bad," he said. "This [involves a] dead dog in the cellar and half-eaten puppies. I thought that there was some provision to take away the animals."
Adamkoski said he estimates $2,000 to $3,000 in damages to the house.
This morning, neighbor to the property and Adamkoski's sister, Katherine Kronk, said there was a dead dog in a bag on the side of the road in front of the property. Some of the woman's belongings also were on the curb this morning.