County humane officer Janet Lawniczak said Wednesday that she found 13 cat carriers on the rural Bear Creek Road property along with plastic bins and garbage bags containing dead animals in various stages of decomposition.

This is an excerpt — pick up Thursday's Butler Eagle to read the full article. WINFIELD TWP — A couple charged with animal cruelty after abandoning six cats and leaving them to die on their neighbor's Bear Creek Road property in November will be charged again after authorities found another 18 dead cats and one dead dog — some in carriers similar to the previous case, others in bins and garbage bags. The animals were discovered on property owned by the female defendant's mother.The discovery was made on the same day the couple was scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing relating to the original counts.While the assistant district attorney working the November case against Rusz and Delehanty would only charge the couple with misdemeanors, Lawniczak hopes the new charges will be felonies.