State police have filed animal cruelty charges against an East Penn Township woman who they say hoarded more than 50 Yorkshire terriers in her mobile home and in makeshift kennels on her property.

Nancy Lou Bullard, 73, of Kittatinny Lane, is facing 53 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, according to court records.

State police reportedly removed 53 dogs -- Yorkshire Terriers and Yorkie/Shih-Tzu mixes -- from Bullard's property after executing a search warrant on Jan. 6. The dogs were between 1 and 5 years old.

It is not the first time that state police have charged Bullard with animal cruelty. In 2013, she pleaded guilty to two counts summary counts of animal cruelty and related charges in a case that also involved Yorkshire Terriers.

State police became aware that Bullard was again housing Yorkshire Terriers after an anonymous complaint in late December. In their application for a search warrant, State Police said the animals were kept in insufficient conditions to protect them against inclement weather, and appeared to have long, matted and wet hair.

The dogs were housed at shelters in Schuylkill, Lehigh and Monroe counties as troopers prepared the charges against Bullard.

A preliminary hearing on the charges is scheduled for May 4 at Judge Casimir T. Kosciolek's office in Lansford.

See Saturday's Times News for a full story.