CANFIELD Nearly 20 dead animals have been found inside a home in Canfield.

Animal Charity Coordinator Jane MacMurchy tells 21 News 18 cats and one dog were found dead in a home on Hilltop Boulevard in Canfield.

"These 19 animals suffered and died a painful, excruciating death," said MacMurchy.

It is unknown how long the animals were in the home before they were found, however MacMurchy says they had been in there for a while.

An employee with the Mahoning County Treasurer's Office told 21 News that the house had just been sold at a sheriff's auction after being foreclosed on in May of 2025. The deed was transferred Tuesday, September 2.

MacMurchy says this is a felony case with two suspects. At this time, those suspects have not been named.

The Humane agency is asking for donations to help cover the cost of the necropsies.

The Canfield Police Department says they received complaints going back months, regarding smells, rats and rodents, and the property not being cared for. They notified the Mahoning County Public Health Department in June.

The latter says the attempted to work with the folks living their at the time to rectify these issues, but had no knowledge of the chaos inside the home.

"The reality is if they cleaned up everything on the outside and nobody told us what was the on the inside, we'd have no reason to go in. We can't just go into people's homes for no reason whatsoever," said Colton Masters, director of Environmental Health.

Ohio Senator Al Cutrona says cases like these are what prompted him to introduce Senate Bill 64, imposing harsher penalties for animal cruelty.

"Moving a lot of the M-1s to felonies and then the F-5 felonies to F-3. There will be harsher time, a presumption of jail time," said Senator Cutrona.

Cutrona says Senate Bill 64 is sitting in the judiciary committee.

21 News is working to learn more information. Stay connected online and on air for the latest updates.