(8-3-23) On Wednesday the Butler County Sheriff’s Office arrested Ronda Murphy (60) on three charges, including two misdemeanor counts and one felony count of cruelty to a companion animal.
Dog wardens seized 90 living dogs and at least 30 dead dogs found on two properties owned by Murphy. The sheriff’s office said she had operated an animal rescue branded as Helping Hands for Furry Paws.
On Murphy’s properties, investigators found remains of dead adult dogs and puppies inside refrigerators, freezers, and other locations in varying states of decomposition.
One of the garages housed over 25 dogs in cages with no ventilation or air conditioning, with indoor temperatures that reached about 90 degrees. Murphy had animals sharing cages together that were filled with urine and fecal matter, with no food or water.
The dog wardens described the conditions the dogs were housed in as unlivable. The odor was strong enough to burn their eyes and take away their breath.
The Butler County Sheriff’s Office removed all 90 of the living dogs from the properties and took them to Animal Friends Humane Society of Butler County, where they are being treated.
Murphy is being held at the Middletown Jail.
Mercer County Outlook 