A mother and daughter from Kittanning were sentenced to serve a year of probation Thursday after pleading guilty to charges state police filed for abandoning six dogs, including three puppies, last year at a home in Clay Township.

Heidi S. Dunkle, 53, and her daughter Tiara M. Dunkle, 33, were sentenced in Butler County Common Pleas Court to concurrently serve two six-month terms of probation after pleading guilty to two counts of neglect of animals.

Judge Joseph Kubit also ordered the women to pay $500 fines, undergo mental health evaluations and to not own pets.

Troopers responded to 147 Queen Junction Road in Clay Township on Aug. 1, 2024 for a report of multiple dogs tied to the porch and found six dogs that appeared to be border collies, according to an affidavit.

No one was living at the house, but a relative of the property owner and a neighbor, who called police, were waiting for the troopers. They reported that they never saw the dogs before, police said.

The neighbor who called police said she believed the dogs had been left there the previous night and she heard barking that day, police said.

Police said the dogs were filthy, covered in feces and urine stains, and several had severely matted fur. None of the dogs had tags on their collars or had microchips for identification, police said.

After being taken to a shelter, one of the puppies was found to have urine scalding on its skin from sitting in its urine for extended periods of time and one adult had mange, police said.

Police said they investigated and identified Heidi and Tiara Dunkle as the owners.