Olney residents sentenced in dog hoarding case

Two Olney residents started four-month jail sentences last weekend and will pay restitution for veterinary care for 26 dogs that were removed from their urine and feces-infested home on Payne Street in March, law enforcement officials said.

The massive animal cruelty case sprang from a health and safety inspection, where Olney police found the dogs of various breeds and sizes malnourished and filthy when they served a warrant to search 411 Payne St. The dogs were kept in makeshift pens inside the home’s closets and bathrooms, Olney Police Chief Dan Birbeck said.

Chief Birbeck said he was pleased with the outcome of the plea agreement between Young County Attorney Chris Baran’s office and the defendants, Jerry Wayne York and Tracy Lynn York.

“It is good to see they are being held accountable for the pain and suffering that the animals went through,” Chief Birbeck said.

Mr. Baran said the Yorks reported to the Young County jail this weekend to serve their sentences, which will be day-for-day with no possibility of early release. Mr. Baran said he had informed the defendants “that there was no probation offer on the table.”

“They also have to pay ($1,814) restitution back to the county for care and feeding of those animals,” he said. “We came to that plea deal because they were given the option of looking at what they had done and the situation. I think a jury of their peers would have given them a substantial amount of time in jail and apparently, they came to the same conclusion.”

Mr. Baran said he felt “satisfied” with the plea agreement in light of “a rash of these cases about three or four years ago.”

“I really wanted to get the message across that this kind of behavior is not acceptable in Young County,” he said. “We had a rash of these about three or four years ago – I don’t know why these things come in waves. We had issues with people not feeding their large animals so we had several cattle and horses that essentially starved to death.”

The Police Department called on City workers to help transport the animals to the Humane Society of Young County, where they were examined, bathed, vaccinated, and medicated, where necessary. The animals were held for two weeks and then released to a Kansas City-based rescue organization.