QUAKAKE – Police and humane officers in Schuylkill County said a newspaper ad for free poodles led to the discovery of 17 dogs and a cat in deplorable conditions.
Officials with the Hillside SPCA told Newswatch 16 that the homeowner would only surrender three of the poodles, so police got a search warrant to go through the home on West Main Street in Quakake and seize the animals.
Betty Shickora told Newswatch 16 that she had recently spent time in the hospital, and was trying to give the dogs away, in case she got sick again.
“Oh my God, no,” said Shickora. “Why would I ever keep a sick or dead dog?”
SPCA officials said they did not find any dead dogs inside, but several of the 17 poodles appear to be sick and need to be checked out.
Authorities said they plan on filing criminal charges or citations because of the condition that the dogs were kept in.
