At a pretrial hearing yesterday, Westmoreland County Judge Christopher Feliciani ruled that there is enough evidence to hold a trial for a New Florence-area woman and her parents, who are each charged with 236 counts of animal cruelty for keeping 67 cats, 30 dogs, a deer and a turtle inside their home in Fairfield Township.
Last April, county humane officers found the animals living in squalor at the home of 54-year-old Alexsandria Klochak, along Ross Mountain Park Road. Armed with a search warrant, they found the diseased and malnourished animals living in a house where the floors were covered with waste and paper towels, and waste had been shoveled against the walls to provide walking room.
Klochak’s parents, 75-year-old Richard and 72-year-old Yvonne Klochak, did not appear in court yesterday. They live in New Jersey and have health problems, according to their attorney, but lived in the home with their daughter and the animals before moving out of state.
Judge Feliciani heard testimony from volunteers who rescued the animals and cared for them, and from veterinarians who treated them. He set a trial date for all three for April 1st.
