On Friday, April 5, at about 2:45 p.m., Butler County Sheriff’s Deputy Brandon Huffman stopped his vehicle near 138 Whitestown Road to give his K-9 companion a rest.

While out of the car, the K-9 sniffed out what turned out to be two trash bags, each with a dead German shepherd inside.

What followed was two days of coordination between state, county and local law enforcement and the rescue of 50 animals, including dogs, cats, pigs, goats and ducks, from a Connoquenessing Township residence Saturday, April 6.

According to a state police report, Butler Township police were called in Friday afternoon to the Whitestown Road location after the bags were found in the northwest corner of the lot. Both dogs had tracking chips registered to Paul Joseph Frederick, who lives at 121 Double Road.

Around 2:30 p.m. Saturday they submitted a search warrant to the on-call magisterial district court and returned to the Double Road property at around 5 p.m., where they encountered and arrested Frederick.

Police said when they located the animals upon the execution of the search warrant, Frederick became increasingly agitated and refused to leave the residence.

Police said they arrested Frederick, 53, for aggravated cruelty to animals causing serious bodily injury or death, obstructing administration of the law, and resisting arrest in relation to the incident.

According to the report, Frederick resisted as police physically tried to remove him from the residence, then took him to the floor to place him in handcuffs.

Police said they interviewed Frederick at the Whitestown Road location at around 2:30 p.m. Friday, where he said one of his dogs had died, which his son “was supposed to bury” at the property. After he was informed there were two dogs, Frederick responded, “I don’t know,” police said.

Police then went to the Double Road location at around 4:15 p.m. for a welfare check, after Frederick said he had three additional dogs. Police said they saw three dogs in separate crates but no other animals.

Police later returned to 138 Whitestown Road at around 5:45 p.m., where they found the two German shepherds had been buried after police initially left the scene. Police exhumed the dogs, which were then transported to the Association for Needy and Neglected Animals Shelter in Erie.

According to police, the shelter found Saturday that the two dogs died of starvation, and they had no muscle mass, no fluids, no physical injuries and were 30 pounds underweight.

Police said the 50 animals were transported to the ANNA Shelter after being removed from the residence.