A panel of Superior court judges has upheld the $900 in fines imposed by a Schuylkill County judge on a Rush Township woman convicted of 18 counts of animal cruelty for keeping neglected dogs and a cat in cramped, filthy cages in her home.

District Judge Stephen Bayer of Tamaqua found Elizabeth Shickora, 74, guilty on March 5, 2014, and she appealed to county court, where Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin upheld Bayer's ruling.The judges found that Dolbin was correct in concluding that Shickora acted wantonly by "unreasonably risking harm while being utterly indifferent to the consequences."In the court's 12-page ruling, handed down May 21, the Superior Court judges acknowledged Shickora was overwhelmed and unable to care for the animals, but also noted that she let the animals suffer rather than ask for help.Shickora "wantonly neglected her dogs and cat by denying them access to clean and sanitary shelter, as well as access to veterinary care. Each animal was filthy with feces, had worms, and some had eye infections, teeth that needed to be removed, and lumps. It is obvious from the pictures as well as the testimony of the commonwealth's witnesses that the unsanitary conditions existed for a period of some time."Shickora was clearly in denial, and exhibited a conscious indifference to the consequences of the home and animal conditions to (Rush Township police officer Duane) Frederick and the SPCA workers," the panel wrote.According to the ruling, which includes testimony from a hearing, a neighbor contacted police on Dec. 9, 2013, about the animals. At 9 a.m. the next day, Frederick arrived at the home, and Shickora allowed him to enter.Frederick "found the home conditions to be horrendous, one of the worst he had ever seen. The floor was covered with animal feces, as were the carpeting and walls. There were numerous dogs in cages, and feces was on the dogs and cages. The dogs were all barking and it was chaos," the ruling said.Frederick backed out of the home and told Shickora he was going to call the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals because he needed more manpower in the situation. Shickora told Frederick she did not want her animals killed by the SPCA, and refused to let him back into her home. Frederick returned later that day, and by that time, several SPCA employees had arrived and had spoken to Shickora, who let them in.They removed 18 animals, one at a time. Frederick issued 18 citations and left.At the hearing, Frederick testified Shickora told him she was elderly and in poor health, and had been in the hospital weeks before Dec. 13, 2014.Frederick testified he did not believe that she had tried to take better care of the animals. He said he did not believe she intended for the conditions to get that bad, but they did.Frederick also said Shickora didn't think the home condition was a problem. He said the condition of the home was "out of control" and had built up over a long time.Hillside SPCA humane officer Janice Choplick testified at the hearing that she and others saw many dogs, several to a crate. The dogs were covered in feces, and the smell and the presence of urine were overpowering.The first time in the house, Choplick did not observe any food or water. The second time in, she observed a bowl. The house was filthy, dirty, cluttered and full of junk. In her opinion it was not fit for human or animal habitation. The dogs were infested with fleas, had matted hair, eye problems and long nails.Photos presented at the hearing included one of a cat, which was found in a cage in the basement. The crate was covered with feces, cat hair and filled with cat food cans. The cage had not been cleaned for a long time. An SPCA worker testified that they were able to save the cat.No animal death was reported in court records.