Woman, adult son charged with hoarding, neglecting 117 dogs

A year after 117 emaciated dogs and puppies were rescued from squalor at a Ross home, a woman and her adult son have been charged with hoarding and abusing the animals.

Mary Lu Frankovic, 69, and Christopher Frankovic, 45, each face 20 felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty and 56 other charges in connection with the Sept. 11, 2019 rescue operation along Ridgeside Road — the largest in the Animal Friends shelter’s 77-year history.

“We are so pleased that through these charges being filed by the Ross Township Police Department, together we are ensuring that these dogs are on their way to receiving the justice they deserve,” said Kathleen Beaver, president and CEO of Animal Friends.

Beaver said rescuing so many animals from such deplorable conditions affected the shelter’s staff.

“These 117 dogs will always hold a special place within our organization,” she said.

Nancy Schlosser, who lives next door to the property, is just thankful the animals are gone.

“I can finally go outside,” Schlosser, 80, said Monday morning.

Schlosser said she had to keep her doors and windows closed during warm weather to keep the smell out when the animals were at the house.

“It was disgusting, just unbearable,” she said. “And if I went out on my front porch, there would be a swarm of flies. I can live with a vacant house next door, but I couldn’t stand it when the animals were in there.”

The conditions in the house were so bad that shelter personnel and emergency responders had to wear breathing masks for protection because the odor of ammonia was so intense. The property was also strewn with junk and overgrown with weeds.

The Frankovics now live in Salem, Ohio, according to court records, which did not list an attorney for the pair.

The piles of junk have been cleared from the property and the landscaping is ragged, but has been trimmed back. The house, which was condemned, is boarded up.

“I hope the house gets torn down,” Schlosser said. “It would be nice if it was just woods there.”

Neighbors said while the smell and the flies near the house were sickening, they had no idea that so many dogs were being hoarded in the modest house.

The 117 dogs and puppies — mostly Australian Shepherd, Border Collie and Golden Retriever mixes — that were rescued from the home were underweight, suffering from skin issues, had fleas and bite wounds.

One of the dogs had a severe wound to the head and all of them required medical attention from the shelter’s veterinary staff.

The dogs taken from the home also had to be spayed or neutered and vaccinated.

Among the dogs removed, 16 were puppies ranging in age from three days to five weeks, including one that died. A number of the dogs were elderly.

All the dogs that were rescued have been placed into adoptive families, foster homes or with trusted breed rescue groups, according to shelter officials.

The animal were rescued after the township received complaints about the property from neighbors and concerned residents for several years, which resulted in multiple citations, court hearings and rulings from the local district judge.