WILLIAMSTOWN, Pa. — A Dauphin County couple has been charged with allowing their two dogs to starve to death and disposing of the animals' bodies in the trash, State Police claim.
Chyna McClary, 41, and Andrew Welsh, 33, were living in an uninsulated tent behind a rental property in Williamstown, Dauphin County in December, when the animals died of neglect and malnourishment, according to State Police.
The couple told police they were going through financial difficulties and could not afford sufficient food for the dogs. Police said the suspects made no effort to get help for the dogs, a male pit bull named Zeke and a female pit bull named Peg.
The dogs were fed about a cup of dog food "every couple of days," the suspects told police.
Welsh, who said he was the dogs' owner, said the animals were kept outside the couple's tent and believed the cold weather and the dogs' malnourishment were factors in the animals' deaths.
According to the suspects, Zeke died on December 31, and Peg died two days later. The couple kept the dogs' bodies stored for about a month, wrapped in plastic sheeting and kept inside gray plastic totes, until they placed the totes with the trash on Thursday. They allegedly wrapped the dogs' bodies in plastic, stored them in plastic totes, sealed the totes with tape and left them to be collected with the trash, police said.
The dogs' bodies were found by employees at a waste management company in Schuylkill County after they collected trash on Thursday, police said. The bodies were found when one of the employees opened the totes to dispose of what they believed to be trash.
Company records led investigators to the owner of the rental property in Williamstown, who told police that Welsh and McClary were living in the yard behind the residence.
Both suspects are charged with two felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and one misdemeanor count of animal neglect, according to police.
