UTICA -- Only two dogs are still alive in a horrific case of animal cruelty in Utica.
Utica police say one adult male and one puppy remain under a veterinarian's care. The other six dogs rescued from a home on Whitesboro Street on Tuesday have died.
On Wednesday, 22-year-old Umar Aziz appeared in Utica City Court for arraignment, pleading not guilty to 8 counts of animal cruelty and 14 related charges.
He is accused of abandoning eight dogs at his home on Whitesboro Street. When police arrived at the house Tuesday, they found three of the dogs had starved to death. Police said the dogs were starving for a long time and some of the dogs tried to survive by eating shoe leather.
Aziz is scheduled to be back in court on April 19th.
