LIBERTY, Ky. — Editor's note: This story contains accounts and images of animals that have been neglected and abused. Content may not be suited for all audiences.
It's been more than four months since the Animal Rescue Corps found dozens of animals starved and abused at a home in rural Casey County, Kentucky, with three of them left for dead.
Still, it appears no one has been held responsible.
“Anyone who does any sort of cruelty like this should be held accountable," said Kammy Popiwczak, with Bluegrass Burro Rescue, a nonprofit based in Georgetown. "She should be facing criminal charges and have to pay the consequences for her actions."
Popiwczak led the charge to save 35 horses trapped on the property in the small town of Liberty, with a population of just over 2,000 people. Her crews found the horses emaciated, and many had deformed limbs and worms in their stomachs.
"[It's] what I called a farm of horror," Popiwczak said. "[They] were basically part of a scam. You see their loss of hope, you could see it in their eyes. They just had given up, and some of them didn’t make it. And that’s just so heartbreaking."
More than 40 neglected dogs were discovered on the property back on Jan. 14 during the coldest week of the winter when temperatures dipped into the single digits. Three of the dogs were found dead, including two frozen solid.
At the request of the Casey County Sheriff's Office, the Animal Rescue Corps (ARC) responded to the home, finding dogs throughout the home and basement locked up in crates. Some cages contained inches of feces and urine.
Their rescue mission was called Operation Frozen Sorrows.
"[A] very sad place," said Michael Cunningham, shelter director for the ARC -- a national nonprofit animal protection organization. "They [were] desperate, absolutely desperate. And it’s not OK."
Cunningham told WHAS11 the dogs were emaciated. He said it was unclear how long they had gone without food or water.
They presented this evidence to the sheriff's office, but authorities decided not to pursue charges.
“I think she had good intentions when she started out to care for these animals," Sheriff Chad Weddle said. "I think she got overwhelmed, and one thing led to another."
Weddle confirmed his deputies responded to the Liberty home after the tenant, a woman, suffered a medical emergency and was unexpectedly hospitalized. Deputies reported to the scene to not only learn why was she hoarding animals, but why her four children were also living in the filthy conditions.
According to the ARC, the woman was operating a purported rescue out of the home called Everything's Going to be Alright Rescue & Rehabilitation.
“She had a rescue and was pulling animals from shelters, trying to put them up for adoption -- fundraising on the fact that she was pulling them out of the shelters and trying to find homes for them," Cunningham said.
We asked the sheriff why the woman was not charged with animal cruelty or child abuse.
“The last I heard from her, she was out of state, and I don’t even know if she lived or not," Weddle said over the phone. "I’m not going to comment on that because I honestly was never out there. I’ve seen pictures, but I don’t know when the pictures were taken or anything like that.”
WHAS11 is not naming the woman because she has not been charged with a crime.
According to Kentucky state law, torture of a dog resulting in serious physical injury or death is a Class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison. But the person responsible for the horror discovered in that home seemingly got off scot-free.
"She just took advantage of people, and the animals suffered as a result," Popiwczak said about the tenant. “This is a pattern for her, and she’s going to continue to do so. And I just hope eventually she does gets caught."
WHAS11 also talked to the homeowner Dan Polo, who walked us through the property in late March.
“When [it] happened, I came to find this whole place destroyed.” he said.
Polo said he’s had to spend several thousand dollars on repairs. Outside of the home, carriers are still piled up.
“I’m 12 hours away, trusting her with my property and my dogs," Polo said. "I had no reason not to believe her. I met her as a rescuer. So in the end, I trusted the wrong person."
We filed an open records request with Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services, trying to find what action, if any, the state’s child protection branch took for the four kids living in the Liberty home.
The Cabinet denied our request, saying these documents “constitute confidential information obtained by the Cabinet as a result of an investigation of reported child abuse, neglect, or dependency that shall not be disclosed."
The Animal Rescue Corps says all 44 dogs they rescued are now either in foster homes or have been adopted. And Bluegrass Burro Rescue reports all the horses are receiving the proper care, including Glimmer -- a young filly who has experienced a miraculous recovery.
"She loves people. And to think what she came from, where she couldn’t even be touched. You couldn’t get near her," Popiwczak said. "Animals that are rescued seem to know -- they absolutely know. They are so appreciative of everything you do for them.”
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