30 emaciated, dirty animals rescued from local farm

HARMONY, Pa. — Thirty emaciated, dirty animals are recovering after being rescued from a Butler County farm.

Some were in such bad condition they could barely walk.

"Once I got my hands on them, it was really alarming how thin they were," said Dr. Becky Morrow. "You couldn't tell by looking, but once you felt them, they were very, very thin."

The animals were left out in the cold and were severely underfed.

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In all, 11 malnourished sheep, six donkeys with severely overgrown hooves, three goats with inadequate shelter and 10 rabbits cooped up in their hutches were rescued from the property in Harmony.

The rescuers are more used to saving cats, but when Frankie's Friends Cat Rescue got the call reporting the animal cruelty, they knew they couldn't wait.

"This weather that we are having now, terrifying to think what they would have gone through," Morrow said. "The rabbits had very thin coats and didn't have any protection from the elements within their hutches."

The animals were taken to Hog Heaven Rescue Farm, where it will take months to rehabilitate them.

The owner willingly gave up the animals, saying she was overwhelmed. She is now facing animal cruelty charges.

To donate for the care of the rescued animals in Harmony:

• Frankie's Friends Cat Rescue , 421 Ninth St., New Kensington, Pa., 15068 (Checks should be marked "Butler animals")
• Frankie's Friends Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FrankiesFriendsCatRescue/
• Hog Heaven Rescue Farm, 2681 Mallory Rd., Cochranton, Pa., 16314: https://www.facebook.com/groups/www.hogheavenrescue.org/

Cox Media Group