NORTH NORWICH – On Sunday, September 4, The New York State Police at Norwich arrested Brittany L. Waldruff, 26, and Derrick A. Waldruff, 24, both from North Norwich. The couple were each charged with four counts of misdemeanor cruelty to animals.

The couple's arrests occurred after authorities responded to a residence on State Route 12, in the Town of North Norwich, to assist Norwich Dog Control Officer Matt Bates with an abandoned beagle and four puppies.

An investigation conducted at the residence determined that, after being evicted from their upstairs apartment, the Waldruff's allegedly abandoned their pet beagle and her four new puppies without food or water inside the locked apartment, causing extreme dehydration.

Bates said, “I immediately took the dogs to Compassionate Care. They are doing great, and we are working on finding them homes. Every day since I've brought them over there I've checked in with Compassionate Care. They are getting treated, and they're going to survive. Maybe a couple of days later and they wouldn't have survived.” He continued, saying, “We got them out of there just in time, that’s a happy ending to this case.”

Both Brittany Waldruff and Derrick Waldruff were issued appearance tickets, and are set to appear in the Town of North Norwich Court on Wednesday, Sept. 14, at 11 a.m.