Pigs, dogs and cats removed from condemned property

A public nuisance charge has been filed against owner Wendi Kraemer.

By the MVI

Rostraver Township police and animal rescue officials returned to a rat-infested property Thursday afternoon to serve another search warrant and rescue 50 pigs, several dogs and cats found living inside and outside of the condemned property.

Debris and trash inside a Rostraver home that has been condemned. Its owner was charged with misdemeanor public nuisance after township police said a colony of rats was living there. (Courtesy of Rostraver police)

Rostraver police filed a public nuisance charge Tuesday against Wendi Sue Kraemer, 59, of 4531 state Route 51. On Thursday, two condemnation signs hung on the wooden fence at either entrance to Kraemer’s property, off Route 51 and along Adams Drive. She bought the secluded 9.6 acres of land for $62,000 in 2015, according to a deed.

Police and Erik Mitchell, the township zoning/code enforcement official, started an investigation on the property May 18, after residents along nearby Adams Drive complained about public health and safety concerns due to rats coming from Kraemer’s property.

Police said they discovered the 50 pigs on Tuesday when they went to serve the first search warrant after neighbors complained rats from the property were overrunning their homes.

Rostraver Township police Chief Scott Sokol said the investigation is continuing as 40 pigs were living outside and 10 were inside a home, he said. There were also cats and kittens.

About 50 pigs were found at a Rostraver home that has been condemned. Its owner was charged with misdemeanor public nuisance after township police said a colony of rats was living there. (Courtesy of Rostraver police)

In the criminal complaint filed Tuesday against Kraemer, police said she did not respond to a violation letter sent May 19 and residents were still complaining about rats. Township officials also filed two citations Tuesday related to what they described as unsanitary conditions and an infestation.

Kraemer, who claimed she was operating an animal sanctuary at the property, told the Mon Valley Independent that she was “set up” and that the rats were dumped on her property. She also claims the excess trash was placed there by someone else.

While police and humane agents were at the property on Thursday, they could be seen in video footage taken by KDKA-TV trying to corral the pigs into trailers.

Sokol told the Mon Valley Independent that the conditions were so appalling that his officers got sick when they entered the property.

The home was covered in filth and has a fly infestation, police said. There were also issues with water and no potable water for the animals.

“We found abhorrent conditions, filth to a level that you could not believe,” Sokol said Tuesday. “They were bad conditions. All the appropriate resources have been contacted. Department of Agriculture, the Humane Services. I mean, the pigs were literally stuffed in a small area.”

It wasn’t known as of press time where the animals were transported to.

A preliminary hearing for the public nuisance charge against Kraemer is set for July 13 before Magisterial District Judge John Christner.

Kraemer has been at odds with Rostraver officials and her neighbors for years. She was fined about $1,200 in recent months for burning household items on two occasions and a citation for failure to pay garbage fees is pending, according to court records.

Complaints from residents about her and the property started in 2016, according to a federal court opinion in a 2022 lawsuit she filed against the township, some Rostraver officials and others.

All the counts involved in the lawsuit were either dismissed or a judge ruled in favor of the township. Kraemer has since appealed the federal judge’s decision.

TribLive contributed to this story.