VAN WERT — The former Van Wert County dog warden has been indicted by a grand jury on four felony counts of animal cruelty.

Rich Strunkenburg was fired by the county commissioners July 31 after having been on paid leave since July 21 during an investigation. The commissioners said Mr. Strunkenburg failed to supply adequate food and water, to adequately clean the kennel and cage areas, to follow proper procedure in handling dead animals, and to provide adequate care and attention to the animals.

Mr. Strunkenburg’s attorney, Bill Kluge of Lima, was not immediately available.

Sheriff Tom Riggenbach said an investigation found three dogs and six kittens dead in their kennels. He said some kennels appeared not to have been cleaned in weeks, others in several days. The deceased animals, some of whom may have been dead for two or three days, had not been removed from their kennels.

“We do know that an attempt was made to contact the company that is used to dispose of dead animals from the kennel, and they were not able to respond that week,” the sheriff said.

The animals appeared to have been ill when they arrived at the shelter and died of those illnesses, though the sheriff said they were not provided with medical care.

“At the very least, the condition of the animals should have been brought to someone’s attention so a determination could be made if a vet needed to see them, if medical care could be provided or if the humane thing to do would be to euthanize them,” he said.

The sheriff also noted a lack of sufficient water for the animals in the shelter. While the kennel area has several ventilation fans, it is not air conditioned.

Joe Burkard, a Paulding County prosecutor appointed to handle the case, said he is comfortable with the fifth-degree felony charges.

“Based upon the facts of the investigation and the photographs, the care he was providing to these animals fell below the standard they should have been,” Mr. Burkard said. “The condition of several of the animals led themselves to the charge.”

The Van Wert County Sheriff’s Department received a complaint from a resident that triggered the investigation.

A sheriff’s deputy who was formerly a part-time county dog warden has been temporarily assigned to manage the shelter, and also will handle the humane agent duties.

While the dog warden is an employee of the commissioners, the office was placed under the sheriff’s supervision a year ago to address concerns about responsiveness to calls. The Van Wert County Humane Society provides the shelter space and the home next door in which Mr. Strunkenburg, who was also the county’s sole humane law enforcement agent, had lived at no cost.

Todd Wolfrum, commissioners chairman, said the county is planning to place the dog warden’s operations entirely under the sheriff’s department to eliminate confusion among the three entities about who was responsible for oversight of the shelter.

“That’s where we intend to go,” Mr. Wolfrum said. “We just have to make sure we’re following all the requirements of the law to set that up.”

They also plan to create a volunteer program, after learning that residents who tried to volunteer have been turned away.

“This is a horrible thing to happen, but there are a lot of positives to come out of it,” Mr. Wolfrum said.

Mr. Strunkenburg is scheduled to appear before Van Wert County Common Pleas Judge Charles Steele on Wednesday.

Contact Alexandra Mester at: amester@theblade.com, 419-724-6066, or on Twitter @AlexMesterBlade.

First Published September 5, 2014, 5:29 p.m.