A Middleborough woman who neglected her animals and kept them in “deplorable conditions” has pleaded guilty to over two dozen animal cruelty charges, the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday.
Kimberly Savino, 44, pleaded guilty to 26 charges of animal cruelty by custodian, second offense, tied to two separate but related cases out of Wareham District Court, the district attorney’s office said in a press release.
The charges stem from an MSPCA Law Enforcement investigation that began in April 2024 when officers from the department contacted Savino to conduct a routine welfare check on her horses, the district attorney’s office said. Officers were concerned about her animals because she’d previously been charged with animal cruelty in 2014 in Michigan.
While inspecting the property, officers discovered that Savino’s horses were “significantly underweight” and being fed “very poor-quality hay,” the district attorney’s office said. Despite being instructed on how to improve her horses’ health, investigators found that she continued to insufficiently feed and care for them over the next several months.
Between June 28, 2024, and Oct. 16, 2024, Savino canceled and rescheduled at least nine appointments to have the horses weighed and assessed, the district attorney’s office said. On Oct. 18, 2024, MSPCA and Middleborough police officers carried out search warrants at Savino’s property.
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Inside Savino’s home, Middleborough police found 17 dogs and two cats “left in deplorable conditions in the basement,” the district attorney’s office said. Officers also discovered the remains of several dogs in a freezer and in plastic casket boxes in her garage. The dogs, cats, six horses and a guinea pig were seized and taken to MSPCA-Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston.
On Oct. 30, 2024, Middleborough police charged Savino for neglecting the animals found inside her home, the district attorney’s office said. In a separate case filed the same day, MSPCA Law Enforcement charged her for neglecting her horses.
Savino has been sentenced to a suspended, one-year sentence in state prison and three years of probation on one of the sets of charges, the district attorney’s office said. She was sentenced to an additional three years of probation on the other set.
The judge also barred Savino from owning or possessing any animals and ordered her to seek mental health treatment and complete 100 hours of community service, the district attorney’s office said. Savino will also be required to cooperate with MSPCA officers who conduct welfare check-ins on two animals belonging to family members who live on her property.
