One dog was found dead inside a Clarks Summit home. Other dogs and a cat were rescued.
CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. — A husband and wife from Lackawanna County face felony animal cruelty charges Wednesday, days after the county’s humane officer found dead and starving pets at a suburban home in Clarks Summit.
Two dogs and one cat were rescued on June 7 from 605 Meadow Lane, an abandoned home, where they had been left to survive on trash, according to a criminal complaint. Humane Officer Marci Zeiler reported a third dog, dead for months, was decomposing in one of the rooms.
Zeiler charged the home’s listed owner, Erin DeCicco, and her husband, Anthony DeCicco, with several animal cruelty and neglect offenses. Zeiler wrote in an affidavit that social media posts and home records prove their ownership of the animals.
Reached by phone Wednesday, Anthony DeCicco denied living there and said he had no knowledge of anything that happened inside the residence. He said the case is a “misunderstanding” being handled by lawyers and he declined to comment further.
The Meadow Lane home was listed as Erin DeCicco’s residence in their 2017 marriage license and county assessment records indicate she’s owned the property since 2015. The 2017 marriage license noted Anthony DeCicco lived elsewhere in Clarks Summit at the time.
Attempts to reach Erin DeCicco were unsuccessful.
According to the affidavit:
The incident came to Zeiler’s attention June 6 when neighbors called in tips that animals were crying inside an abandoned house.
Zeiler checked the place out and smelled a foul odor coming from inside. Dogs were crying and she could see bugs on the urine-stained curtains in the windows.
Neighbors told her that the property owner typically comes by at night occasionally, but not for weeks. They described the owner as a woman.
Zeiler posted a notice on the door requesting the owner get in contact within the next 24 hours. The deadline expired, and Zeiler got a search warrant.
A strong smell of ammonia, feces and decomposition greeted the humane officer.
One dog was dead and being eaten by bugs. Zeiler later identified the dog as a hunting dog named “Bo.”
Two other dogs and a cat were starving and dehydrated. They seemed to have been surviving on trash. The dogs were identified as a Husky named “Aspen” and a Beagle named “Lola.” A name for the cat was not available.
The surviving animals have since been placed on a refeeding schedule to reintroduce them to food.
One dog needs a harness to help her walk and another has been coughing since arrival at the animal shelter. The cat gained one pound in three days.
Zeiler wrote that one dog — a hunting dog named “Hank” — and two cats are unaccounted for.
Anthony and Erin DeCicco were arraigned Tuesday night and released on $25,000 bail. They have preliminary hearings scheduled for June 25.