AUBURN, NY (607NewsNow) – Two people are facing charges for alleged inhumane treatment of animals in Auburn.

On March 19, Auburn Police responded to an animal abuse complaint at a home on North Division Street. Officers found two severely underweight dogs in crates. Investigators say they learned the dogs’ names were Stella, a two-year-old small Pitbull mix, and Paula, an 8-year-old Chihuahua mix.

According to Auburn PD, the dogs had been left abandoned in crates for 10 days while the residence was condemned, and they were not adequately checked on or fed during that period.

Investigators say Stella had been deprived of food since at least November 2024 and had been kept in a small crate for most of her life. Stella lost hair in her coat, had no pads left on her paws, which were swollen and infected, and was “severely underweight and malnourished.” According to the police report, she was unable to take more than two steps on her own and will have to wear boots on her paws for the rest of her life.

After a two-week investigation, the owners were located and arrested. Laura Hendrickson and Kenneth Sulgar are charged with felony aggravated cruelty to animals; two counts of misdemeanor overdriving, torturing, and injuring animals; two counts of misdemeanor abandonment of animals; and a single misdemeanor count of failure to provide proper food and drink to an impounded animal.