A West Hempfield Township couple has been charged with neglecting nearly 100 animals they kept inside their home.

Jessica Lynn Drexler, 44, and Andrew S. Culp, 42, were each charged with a total of 146 different offenses including two felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals.

Drexler and Culp are accused of abusing 93 different animals including dogs, cats and rabbits at their shared residence in the 700 block of High Ridge Road in April. The couple had previously been charged with one count each of endangering the welfare of a child and conspiring to endanger the welfare of a child in connection to the living conditions of a 16-year-old boy living at the residence. 

When Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Officer Jennifer Nields, who filed the charges, executed a search warrant at the home in late April she discovered dogs hoarded in crates, some of which were zip-tied shut, animals suffering from severe matting and hair loss and piles of fecal matter and urine pooling throughout the residence. Many of the dogs had fecal matter caked onto their bodies. 

Dogs recovered by law enforcement appeared under-socialized and terrified, unaccustomed to being leashed or handled. Officers removed so many animals from the home that they required the assistance of the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office in order to corral all of them.

While speaking to police Culp said that not all of the animals had been given names and said they had no veterinarian, explaining that the couple purchased their own shots for the dogs. 

An HVAC technician who reported the residence to the SPCA stated that he had to exit the garage to vomit due to the pungent odor inside caused by feces and urine. The technician also detected a strong concentration of ammonia in a bedroom as well as flying insects.

Judge Miles Bixler set bail for both Drexler and Culp at $25,000 unsecured in a preliminary arraignment Friday morning. They both remain free on that amount.

Neither Drexler nor Culp can obtain any animals as part of their bail conditions.  

All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.