SCOTTSBURG, Ind. (WDRB) — A southern Indiana woman was arrested Tuesday after police found 42 dogs in her house and placed her two daughters in state custody.
A Scott County sheriff's deputy responded Tuesday to a home on East Stucker Road in Lexington, Indiana, on a welfare check. According to Ashlee Mashburn's probable cause affidavit, a woman called police to tell them her husband saw dog poop "all over the floor of the residence."
Deputy Danielle Vogt said she arrived at the house and could see "a lot of fecal matter all over the floor and counter tops" through the front door.
After knocking on the door numerous times, Mashburn, 42, eventually answered. When asked how many dogs were inside, she told police there "could possibly be 20" but she wasn't sure. She told Vogt she lived there with her husband and two daughters.
According to court documents, Mashburn told Vogt they'd lived there about 10 years but the house "has gotten worse" over the last year. She told Vogt she had so many dogs because she didn't want to see any of them euthanized and they were in the process of building a barn for them.
Vogt contacted the Department of Child Protective Services, and when officials arrived, they noticed bite marks on both of Mashburn's daughters' legs.
"They had not been able to eat at the house in over a year due to the conditions of the house," DCS officials told police.
Both daughters were placed in DCS custody, and Scott County K-9 units arrived on scene and removed 42 dogs from the home.
Mashburn was charged with two counts of neglect of a dependent and cruelty to an animal.
The Scottsburg Animal Shelter said Tuesday in a Facebook post it was closed to the public Wednesday and is temporarily not accepting any more dogs as it tries to "prioritize our community effectively in a hoard case."
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