An Oakdale man who is facing more than 50 charges of neglect and cruelty involving dogs was taken into custody, officials announced Saturday.

Joshua Michael Humes, 36, was charged by North Fayette Township Police earlier this week, Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin M. Kraus said in a news release. The arrest comes after an anonymous tip sent in by a “concerned citizen” on June 30 said several young dogs were inside of a camper parked along Noblestown Road in Oakdale.

There were about six pitbull-mix puppies in two small wire cages and one mother pitbull loose inside the camper in “deplorable conditions,” according to the criminal complaint. That included a buildup of feces, urine and rotting food, which indicated that the dogs had not received proper care for a “lengthy” period of time, according to the criminal complaint.

The two crates contained about 6 to 8 inches of feces on the bottom of the cage that the dogs were in, police reported.

Joe Tortorea, of JT Landscaping, which is where Humes has been employed, confirmed to police that the camper was parked on his property several weeks ago, the complaint said.

Humes initially had permission to park the camper on Tortorea’s property, but he had since been asked to remove it multiple times to no avail, Tortorea told police.

Upon entering the camper, small windows were open, but no air conditioning or fans were present, police said, and the outside temperature was 87 degrees.

The dogs were alive and “seemed in minimal distress” despite the camper’s conditions, police said.

“The overwhelming stench of rotting organic matter inside the residence makes it difficult to breathe and indicates extreme neglect,” Lt. Detective Mark Kern of the North Fayette Township Police Department wrote in the affidavit. “The dogs appear to be living entirely within their own waste, without access to a clean area for sleeping or eating.

North Fayette Township Police removed the dogs from the camper with the assistance of a humane officer.

Police were able to identify Humes as the owner of the camper and the dogs.

All of the dogs were taken by the Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh for evaluation and full veterinarian examination and report.

Though Humes was set to surrender himself to authorities Monday, detectives from Kraus’ office learned he was planning to leave the area this weekend.

Detectives tracked Humes to a trailer in Bulger in Washington County, where he was taken into custody without incident just after 6 a.m. Saturday.

“The details of the lack of care provided to these dogs and the indifference toward their suffering are egregious and, quite frankly, sickening,” Kraus said. “I consider anyone who engages is this type of conduct to be a danger to the community and I commend our detectives for their quick work to locate him and get him off the streets.”

Humes was denied bail when he was arraigned Saturday morning and sent to the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh, according to court records. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 28.

His attorney, Justin John-Earl Ketchel, could not immediately be reached for comment Saturday.

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