More than 25 dogs rescued from North Fayette home, had been neglected for months, humane officer says

When North Fayette police and Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh Officer Angela Fry entered Audrey Stevenson’s North Fayette home to check on her dogs in mid-July, “the odor was so severe that our eyes began to water and we were coughing,” Fry wrote in a criminal complaint.

The Azalea Drive residence was home to more than 25 dachshunds, most with severe hair matting and overgrown nails, the complaint said. Rooms in the house were filled with dog waste, and several water bowls in the residence contained brown or yellow water.

Humane Officer Samantha Horstman “also observed several dogs with visible eye injuries, eye discharge and swollen red eyes,” according to court documents. “Some of the dogs were either unable to open their eyes or were squinting.”

Stevenson, 47, now faces nearly 100 charges related to animal cruelty and neglect.

When humane officers initially visited the home on July 10 in response to neighbor complaints about the odor, Stevenson’s husband John told them she wasn’t home, and that he was confined to living in the basement and unable to care for the dogs, the complaint said. They asked that Stevenson contact them and remedy the state of the house.

When the officers reached Stevenson by phone July 14, she protested that the dogs “were fine” and that it was not possible for her to have the house completely cleaned, the complaint said.

“I advised Stevenson that this neglect had been occurring for at least six to eight months based on my training and experience,” Fry wrote in the complaint.

Fry spoke with Stevenson again July 17, and was told that none of the dogs had been groomed or seen by a veterinarian, and that a maid service had come to the house but only cleaned the entry way, the complaint said.

A search warrant was executed and the dogs were removed from the home, including one which was found dead behind a dresser in the master bedroom.

A veterinarian’s forensic report showed five of the dogs suffered serious bodily injury from severe dental infections, one had a severe eye infection and 17 suffered with dental disease, ear and eye infections, according to the complaint. Sixteen of the dachshunds had such matted hair that they required sedation in order to be shaved and cleaned, and 26 had overgrown nails which were curling into their paw pads, making it difficult to walk without pain, the complaint said.

Stevenson was charged with six counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, and 90 charges of animal neglect regarding lack of veterinary care, lack of water and lack of shelter and protection.

She was arraigned Aug. 1. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 28. An attorney for Stevenson was not listed in court records.