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Man sentenced to 1 year for Owen County dog hoarding case

OWEN COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) — A man accused of hoarding more than 70 malnourished dogs amid thousands of rats was sentenced Monday.

Paul Purcell and his sister, Vikki Purcell, were arrested in July and charged with animal cruelty. Paul Purcell has been sentenced to a year in jail.

Police say the dogs were found in filth inside the Purcells’ home on Shepherd Drive in Freedom.

Paul Purcell told police he’s a minister and wanted to start an animal sanctuary, according to a court document.

The dogs all survived, but doctors had to nurse some of them back to health.

Vikki Purcell is set to appear in court for a pretrial hearing on Sept. 8.

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