34-Year-Old Maine Woman Charged With Animal Cruelty; Dogs, Cats & Pigs Seized by Police

It's always atrocious when people treat other people poorly, but it's even more atrocious when they mistreat animals.

Oftentimes, animals are defenseless and helpless against the atrocities being committed against them. That's exactly what is being alleged against a 34-year-old Maine woman.

As the result of an ongoing investigation, police in Maine have removed 21 dogs, a cat, and a pig from a residence following charges of animal cruelty.

WGME 13 is reporting that police in East Millinocket were notified that someone had noticed dogs in a yard fighting each other.

Responding police found multiple dogs at the home that had been fighting and were obviously malnourished, the news station reported, and one of the dogs had died as a result of the fighting.

Following the discovery, the owner of the dogs turned six of them over to police officers, according to WGME.

Following the initial incident, a search was done of the home where investigators found even more animals that were living in squalor, the news station stated.

Police said the conditions were less than ideal and that many of the animals were malnourished, the news station reported, and the animals were all taken to area shelters.

The owner of the animals, 34-year-old, Megan Mathis, has been formally charged with animal cruelty. However, as the investigation into the alleged abuse continues, investigating officers say that more charges are likely.

This is a developing story that we will continue to update as more information becomes available to us.

All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.