A man facing more than 50 charges of neglect and cruelty for the treatment of seven dogs found in a camper in Oakdale is now in custody.
Channel 11 told you about the dogs, six of which were puppies, found living in small cages and in several inches of their own waste earlier this week.
RELATED COVERAGE >>> ‘I’ve never seen conditions that bad’: Humane officer recalls rescuing 6 puppies from Oakdale camper
The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office says 36-year-old Joshua Humes, who investigators identify as the owner of the camper and dogs, was supposed to turn himself in to North Fayette Police on Monday.
“This case is sickening,” said Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus.
Detectives say he was planning to leave the area over the weekend.
“That made it very imminent and very urgent,” Kraus said. “We had addresses in Allegheny County, which he was not staying at. We had a tip he was staying at [a different] address.”
That tip led detectives to Bulger, Washington County, and a trailer where Humes had been staying.
“My message to detectives...find this guy,” Kraus said.
The Humane Officer on the team that recovered the dogs said conditions were so bad that they had to wear special suits to get to them.
“The details of the lack of care provided to these dogs and the indifference toward their suffering are egregious and, quite frankly, sickening,” Sheriff Kraus said. “I consider anyone who engages in this type of conduct to be a danger to the community and I commend our detectives for their quick work to locate him and get him off the streets.”
The humane officer who helped remove the dogs from the camper tells Channel 11 that they’re in rehab and doing well physically, but have never been socialized.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group