MIDDLEBORO, Mass. (WPRI) — A Middleboro woman is facing 26 counts of animal cruelty after more than a dozen dogs were found living in squalor last month, according to police.

Kimberly Savino, 43, turned herself in Thursday morning, roughly a week after a warrant was issued for her arrest.

Middleboro Animal Control officers searched Savino's Precinct Street home on Oct. 18 after receiving complaints from neighbors.

Inside Savino's home, the officers discovered 17 dogs living in filth, according to police, as well as two cats, a guinea pig and a turtle.

Police said the dogs were found locked in crates covered with feces and urine in the basement. It appeared that the dogs hadn't been out of the crates for an extended period of time, police said, and did not have adequate access to food or water.

An investigation into Savino revealed that no one regularly lived at the house and she only visited the animals once per week to check on them.

Police said one of the dogs, who was unresponsive, but breathing, and unable to move, was immediately taken out of the house to receive medical attention. The other animals were removed from the residence later that same day.

The officers also found more than two dozen dead dogs stored between a freezer and plastic caskets in Savino's garage, prosecutors revealed in court.

Savino pleaded not guilty in Wareham District Court and was released on her own personal recognizance. Police said she willingly surrendered the animals, as well as six horses discovered in stables behind the house.

The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) began investigating Savino's treatment of her horses earlier this year, long before her other pets were discovered living in squalor.

Prosecutors said the MSPCA tried to work with Savino after discovering her horses were severely underweight. The MSPCA was also keeping a close eye on Savino, according to prosecutors, due to concerns over animal cruelty charges she was convicted of in Michigan 10 years ago.

Though the MSPCA advised Savino take better care of her horses, prosecutors said she continued to neglect them. Savino is also accused of blowing off scheduled appointments with the MSPCA several times over the course of four months.

In court, prosecutors said the horses were found to be emaciated, covered in mud and had even resorted to chewing on their stables.

The house has since been condemned as a health hazard, police said.

Police said nine of the dogs remain at the Middleboro Animal Shelter, while the other eight are in the MSPCA's care. The horses, meanwhile, are at Nevins Farm in Methuen.

Savino's next court date is scheduled for Dec. 10.

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