Criminal charges were filed Friday against an Arleta woman and her boyfriend for allegedly hoarding more than 90 dogs inside her home, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office announced.
Christianna Billman Hartwell Coppola and her boyfriend, George Katcher, both 39, are charged with three misdemeanor counts each of animal cruelty and animal neglect, according to the City Attorney’s Office.
The two were taking dogs out of animal shelters and soliciting donations for their care, according to the City Attorney’s Office.
Animals were allegedly stacked in cages with a large amount of feces and urine and inadequate food and water when officers from the Department of Animal Services responded in July to neighbor complaints of several animals with poor health and living conditions and foul odors from the property, authorities said.
Coppola was covered in animal feces when officers responded to her San Fernando Valley home, according to the City Attorney’s Office.
Ninety-three dogs were taken from the property, including some with life- threatening ailments and many suffering from highly contagious illnesses, according to the City Attorney’s Office.
Coppola and Katcher are scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 11 in a San Fernando courtroom.
If convicted, the two could face up to six months in jail and $1,000 in fines on each count.
It marks the third case in recent weeks involving conditions in which animals were allegedly being kept in the San Fernando Valley.
— City News Service