One of the 15 dogs found last week.

A Sinclairville man was charged last week after 15 dogs were found living in deplorable conditions along with four puppies.

The Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department reports that at around 9:09 a.m. Wednesday, deputies and the Chautauqua County Humane Society responded to an address on Edson Road in the town of Gerry for a report of animal abuse and neglect filed through the Humane Society. Once deputies arrived, they spoke with Mark Coppola, 64, who was the owner of the dogs on the property.

The department then executed a search warrant at the residence and discovered the dogs. Chautauqua County Humane Society staff immediately transported the animals to the shelter, where medical exams were performed. Six have officially been surrendered to the Humane Society and are available for foster-to-adopt, but all 19 are in their care until a court decision is reached on the case.

All the dogs were living in feces on concrete floors with no bedding in any of the dog houses and did not have access to water inside the kennels. Coppola was charged with 19 counts of overdriving, torturing and injuring animals; and failure to provide proper sustenance. He was released and will return to court later.

“Our number of dogs has doubled overnight,” Kelly Johnson, Chautauqua County Humane Society animal care and facilities manager, said once the dogs arrived.

Johnson said the amount of work for staff has doubled with the extra work as well, including for basic medical care such as vaccinations. At a normal time the Humane Society has 18 kennels and four pods open for dogs, with the average number of dogs in the shelter being between 21 and 25. The additional 19 dogs has now doubled the amount the shelter has on a daily basis.