A 54-year-old Huntertown woman is facing 26 misdemeanor charges of cruelty to an animal after a report of two dead puppies at an Albion property she leased.
Darleen Cervantes was arrested after Noble County Sheriff’s Deputy Whitney Dangello executed a search warrant on the property, according to a news release from the department. Twenty-eight dogs were found on the property, along with two foxes and a raccoon.
The area where the dogs were located was unsanitary and littered with feces, the news release said. The dogs were in poor condition with no food or water available, and two of the dogs were found dead.
A veterinarian with the Indiana State Board of Animal Health went to evaluate the animals that were then sent to area shelters, the news release said.
The foxes and raccoon were handled by Indiana Department of Conservation officers and taken to Northern Indiana Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation.
The Indiana State Board of Animal Health, the state conservation department, the Noble County Humane Society, Shadarobah Horse Rescue and the Noble County prosecutor’s office assisted the sheriff’s department, the release said.
Cervantes’ next court hearing is set for Nov. 6.