BIDDEFORD — A Biddeford man has been charged with animal cruelty.

On Oct. 7, Biddeford Police Department, in association with Biddeford’s Animal Control Officer Garth Russell, charged Bruce W. Friedel, 61, of Raymond Street, on two counts of cruelty to animals, including one with failing to provide shelter. Friedel was also charged with failure to provide necessary sustenance and failure to provide medical attention, said Deputy Police Chief JoAnne Fisk in an email.

Because of the level of abuse, Fisk said, “we are all truly sickened by this.”

The charges follow an anonymous tip made to Russell on Oct. 1, according to Fisk.

The anonymous caller said they believed there was a dog and possibly two cats that had been left behind at a foreclosed property located at 1 Joshua Drive.

The property was owned and last inhabited by Bruce W. Friedel and his wife Kathleen Friedel, 62, according to Fisk.

The Friedels left the property on or about Sept. 17, after a bank foreclosed on their home and they were evicted, she said.

According to Fisk, when officers entered the Joshua Drive property, “They were overwhelmed by an overpowering smell of urine, feces and filth. The floor inside the property was covered with over a dozen piles of feces, puddles of urine was also observed over the floors. What would once have been a litter box was overrun with cat feces. There was no evidence of any water or food for the animals that was recognizable as animal food.”

At the property, officers found what Fisk described as “a white and brown, scruffy, terrier-type dog,” with large patches of irritated skin and missing hair, and a gray tiger cat with a significant limp.

Both animals appeared to have not been fed for a period of time, said Fisk.

The animals were immediately taken to a local veterinary clinic for a thorough examination before they were transported to the Animal Welfare Society in West Kennebunk, she said.

Veterinarians found the cat had a broken femur or pelvis, which appeared to be an older injury, according to Fisk. The cat also had fleas and was very thin.

The dog was fearful of people and needed to be muzzled for safety reasons, Fisk said. When the muzzle was removed, a tooth fell out due to a case of advanced gum disease. The dog also had a combination of yeast and fungal infections on its skin and was significantly malnourished.

“We do not, as a rule, get very many of these types of complaints,” Fisk said. “I can only think of less than a handful that rise to this level. It always affects us. … there was simply no need of this. We understand people fall on hard times, however, they could have made arrangements through the Animal Welfare Society to turn over the animals where they would be treated humanely.

“To leave them at the house unattended with no food, water and ways to go to the bathroom is beyond horrific.”

Friedel has a court date scheduled for Dec. 17 at 9 a.m. at Biddeford District Court.

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.