W.Va. man charged with 141 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty

Trolio said only four of the animals actually belonged to him, but acknowledged he had possession of the others.

In his complaint against Trolio, Berkeley County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael St. Clair indicated he heard what sounded like dogs fighting when he and animal control officers arrived to execute the search warrant.


Once the dogs calmed down, an animal control officer who entered the home returned with a wounded dog that was bleeding profusely from the neck and appeared to be in shock, according to court documents. St. Clair put the animal down with his duty weapon, according to court documents.
 
St. Clair indicated that every room he entered had feces on the floor and Trolio’s wife was trying to clean it up with a large farm shovel, according to court documents.

“There (was) even feces on the stove and the burner holes (were) filled with feces,” St. Clair said. “The smell in the residence was unbearable.”

St. Clair said there were 132 canines and eight felines removed from the property by animal control, and one dog was so old he couldn’t walk, according to court documents.

Jones said there were three or four litters of puppies and multiple pregnant dogs. Puppies were found in cardboard boxes and crates, according to court documents.

The June 19 seizure came after Berkeley County Animal Control received a complaint from the Humane Society of the United States. The animal protection organization said a puppy it obtained from the home was in “deplorable condition.”

“He had fleas, matted fur with feces, scabs on his abdomen, was underweight and dehydrated, and suffered from intestinal parasites,” the organization said in a news release.

The Humane Society of the United States said it received a complaint about sick puppies being sold from the property, which was linked to advertisements on Craigslist, and sent investigators to the property.

The humane society reported a foul odor coming from the home, and noted feces was found on the floor and on 10 to 12 dogs that were loose inside the home, police have said.

Animal control officers who responded to the home to investigate several complaints were not allowed in the home, according to court documents.