A Masury man has been charged with failing to properly care for his mother and a number of dogs.

Brian T. Matthews, 43, of 807 Boyd St., has been charged in two separate cases of cruelty to animals, and one count of failing to provide for an impaired person, all misdemeanors. He pleaded not guilty at arraignment June 23, and Trumbull County Eastern District Court Judge Marty Nosich set a pretrial hearing for Aug. 1.

The initial call came on June 11 when Jason Cooke, founder of Healthy Hearts and Paws Project, a Brookfield animal rescue, reported that he had received a call that three dogs had been held in a cage on a porch at 807 Boyd, police said.

Police said they accompanied Cooke to the address and found the three dogs in a cage appropriate in size for one of them. The dogs did not have food or water, police said.

No one answered a knock on the door, but police said they were able to phone Matthews’ 72-year-old mother, who also lives there. She told police she could not come to the door because of a medical condition, that her son must have put the dogs in the crate, and that they had not been out for long, police said.

promoCooke had photographic evidence that the dogs had been on the porch three hours prior, police said.

Cooke took the dogs to the Animal Welfare League.

Police said they later obtained a statement from a neighbor that the dogs had been left on the porch “day and night” for “two to three months.”

On June 14, the Trumbull County Humane Society asked police to assist them. A society humane agent said she was there to remove animals because of the living conditions at the home, police said. The humane agent also reported that a horrible smell came from the house when Matthews opened the door, police said.

Matthews allowed police to enter the home, police said.

“Once inside, the house smelled heavily of animal feces and other filth making it hard to breathe,” said Officer Jonathan Setser. “The floor was saturated with animal urine and fecal matter. There were clear plastic containers that were overflowing with animal feces in the adjoining room.”

Matthews’ mother was lying on a bed just inside the doorway “and across from the open room with containers of animal feces,” Setser said.

Police said they told Matthews that the house was unhealthy to live in.

“Brian said that he knew it was but had been going through a period of depression and that the house had just gotten away from him,” Setser said.

Matthews said he had quit his job to take care of his mother, police said.

The mother was thin and police recommended that she be taken to a hospital to be checked out, police said. Matthews agreed she should be examined, but his mother refused to go, police said.

“She stated that she was comfortable with Brian taking care of her and that she was scared to go,” police said.

Police said they contacted the Trumbull County Combined Health Department and Trumbull County Adult Protective Services about the condition of the home.

Matthews was arrested on the charges June 19 at Columbia and Lucy streets in Masury, when he was pulled over for running a stop sign, police said. His mother was with him and a family member came to get her and take her home while Matthews was processed, police said. He was released after booking.