Twenty or more dogs were found living in filthy, dangerous conditions on a property in Corbin, Kentucky, according to Kentucky State Police. Investigators say the animals were locked in cages inside a shed with no food or water, in temperatures troopers described as extreme. Cobwebs on the shed's doors suggested the dogs had been trapped inside for months. More animals were discovered in a separate, abandoned building nearby, where water bowls held only feces and urine. Several dogs were emaciated, and troopers reportedly found the decomposed remains of multiple dead animals stored in bins and containers across the property.

The property's owner, 59-year-old Ginger Smith, now faces 23 counts of second-degree animal cruelty, along with charges for failing to vaccinate the dogs and endangering people at the scene. She was cited and released rather than held. "If I had someone to help me, they wouldn't be in this mess," Smith told troopers, according to WKYT.

This case should not end with a citation. We're calling on the Laurel County Commonwealth's Attorney to pursue the full weight of these charges, and on the Laurel County Fiscal Court to establish routine welfare checks for households keeping large numbers of animals, so a situation like this is caught long before dogs are left to starve. Neglect on this scale should never go unnoticed for months at a time.

Sign the petition to demand accountability in this case and welfare checks that protect Laurel County's animals before the next one is found too late.