76 dogs, 15 cats and kittens, and two Flemish rabbits were removed from a residence in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, after officials said they were found living in deplorable conditions.

Pennsylvania SPCA shared that their law enforcement team had responded to a home on High Ride Road in Columbia, after receiving a tip from concerned citizens.

When officers arrived at the property, officials said they detected a foul odor coming from the outside of the residence, which grew stronger as they approached the front door and the garage connected to the home.

Through a window of the residence, officials said officers saw several dogs in distress, including a black Newfoundland-type dog with heavily matted fur, a Shih Tzu-type dog with matting throughout the body, several shepherd-type dogs, and a Chihuahua with significant hair loss.

Officers also found piles of excrement and pools of liquid throughout the interior of the residence.

A fenced-in porch area was coated with feces, and multiple dogs were also seen in crates in the garage, living in feces-laden conditions, officials shared. Those dogs included a mother German Shepherd and her puppies were found crammed into a crate.

Pennsylvania SPCA

Pennsylvania SPCA

After executing a search warrant, officials said officers were able to confirm the severity of the animal’s conditions and they began removing the animals.

Among the animals removed, officials said many were covered in fecal matter and suffered from extreme matting, fur staining, hair loss on the face and body, and scabbing. Some animals were even found living in hutches, while others were confined to crates zip-tied shut.

After all 93 animals were removed from the property, officials said they were turned over to the Pennsylvania SPCA and are now undergoing forensic medical examinations.

Pennsylvania SPCA

Pennsylvania SPCA

Pennsylvania SPCA

Pennsylvania SPCA

Officials said more information about their conditions and potential charges will be provided following those examinations. The charges could include knowingly, recklessly, or intentionally ill-treating an animal, failure to provide access to clean and sanitary shelter and lack of veterinary care.

“The conditions these animals were forced to endure were truly heartbreaking,” said Nicole Wilson, Director of Animal Law Enforcement and Shelter Operations at the Pennsylvania SPCA. “Ninety-three animals living in filth, without clean water, adequate shelter, or basic care – this is why our team works around the clock to respond to these calls. We are grateful to the Good Samaritan who spoke up, the officers from West Hempfield Township and Lancaster County Sheriff Deputies who were committed to the safe removal of all animals and we are committed to ensuring each of these animals receives the care they deserve.”

Anyone with information about this case, or other cases involving animal cruelty, is urged to call the Pennsylvania SPCA’s Cruelty Hotline at (866) 601-SPCA. Tips can also be left anonymously.

“The return of this service is a meaningful addition to PVD’s non-stop portfolio, which is now at 39 destinations,” Iftikhar Ahmad, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, said in a statement. “Rhode Island has one of the strongest Cabo Verdean communities in the United States, and this service creates a direct, convenient connection between families, cultures, and economies.”

Initial operations of the year-round flight will include a Monday afternoon arrival in Rhode Island with an immediate return flight to Cabo Verde, according to the airport.

“The airline is also evaluating the addition of a second weekly frequency later in 2026, which would further expand access for both leisure travelers and the Cabo Verdean community and position PVD as a key U.S. gateway to the archipelago,” the airport said.

According to officials, additional schedule details and booking information will be released by TACV Cabo Verde Airlines in the coming weeks.

Breeze Airways began offering service to Cancun, Mexico, earlier this year, restoring international service in Rhode Island after BermudAir concluded a short-lived, twice-weekly direct flight last summer.

When the Cancun service was announced in September, it was described as an eight-week trial route that was expected to conclude in mid-April 2026.

In an email on Thursday, Ryne Williams, a spokesperson for Breeze, confirmed the nonstop service ends on Saturday but will return on Dec. 19.

This story has been updated to include comment from Ryne Williams.

Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.

To the Editor: Vermonters care deeply about the land.

We care about clean water, healthy soil, and food we can trust. We care about the forests, the farms, and the communities that make this state what it is. On that, there is broad agreement.

Where we are increasingly divided is not on the goal — but on the method.

Much of today’s environmental effort relies on legislation: restrictions, mandates, and regulatory controls over how people live, build, grow, and consume. While often well-intentioned, this approach is meeting growing resistance. Many Vermonters feel overregulated, constrained, or financially burdened, and that tension is beginning to undermine unity around environmental goals.

At the same time, there is a quiet but powerful truth emerging: people are not the problem.

In fact, people are the solution.

Across Vermont, individuals and communities are actively seeking ways to live more in harmony with the land — to grow clean food, reduce toxins, and restore natural systems. The desire is there. The will is there.

What is often missing is a business structure that makes those choices easier, more connected, and economically rewarding, where resource sharing is a multigenerational objective.

What if, instead of relying primarily on mandates, we focused on rewarding and empowering regenerative economic action? What if we made it easy, fun and inclusive for Vermonters to engage in environmental restoration?

Vermont has long been a leader in local food, land stewardship, and community-scale innovation. We are well positioned to lead again — this time by aligning our economic activity with regeneration of our environmental values.

A new model is emerging through EdensBay, a Vermont-seeded marketplace and membership framework designed to support regenerative products, services, and practices. Its aim is simple: to help people invest in one another and participate in rebuilding local ecosystems and economies — together.

This is not about abandoning policy. It is about complementing it with something equally powerful: participation. Because in the end, people are far more likely to engage when they are invited, supported, and rewarded — rather than restricted.

If we want lasting change, we must build with the people, not against them.

Vermonters are ready.

The question is whether you are willing to meet that readiness with a model that trusts it.

Emily Peyton

Putney, April 20