Canfield Police were called last week to a home at 535 Brookpark Drive. And what was found, they said, was disturbing; nine dogs, ill and malnourished, along with a husband, wife and two young children living in filth just a couple of hundred yards from Canfield High School.
Mahoning County Dog Warden Dave Nelson said the find ranks near the top of some of the worst cases he's seen in more than 20 years in the business.
Canfield police, Oct. 22, received a complaint about sick and malnourished-looking dogs at the house. When they arrived to investigate, police found four dogs outside that had sores and scabs on their bodies.
Brian and Beth Spin let officers into the home to check on the well-being of the other animals. "They had mange," Nelson said. "Their toenails were actually grown under. A lot of them had blood in their urine. Some of them were blinded, couldn't see at all as far as that, real listless."
Nelson did agree to share with us a few of the less graphic pictures. "On all of these photos, I probably couldn't even show you these because of how graphic in nature these dogs are," Nelson said.
The house was full of feces, urine, trash, and mold. Nelson said the smell was so over-powering the jacket he was wearing under his containment suit had to be thrown away because washing it would not get rid of the odor.
"There was so much stuff in this home and so hard to see," Nelson said. "We had to have air packs and containment suits on. When we did get them out of there, they were in such bad shape they had to be put down right away."
Three of the dogs died on the way to the pound. The others all had to be put down.
The Spins and their two children, ages 2 and 7, lived inside of the home. Children Services has taken custody of the kids, and the parents now face criminal charges. Both face two counts of endangering children and nine counts of cruelty to animals. Both charges are misdemeanors, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine each. The Spins will be arraigned in Canfield County Court on Wednesday.
Police said they plan to get attention for the children and the investigation is still ongoing. The Mahoning County Health Department has placed a no trespass order on the house because of the conditions.
