Miami County health officials this week filed four misdemeanor charges against the operator of toe Serenity Horse Rescue in Bethel Twp., claiming failure to comply with an order to clean up a public health nuisance.

Shula Woodworth, 45, is to be arraigned March 19 in county Municipal Court on charges of violating orders or regulations of the county Health District.

The charges, filed Monday, claim Woodworth failed to comply with the Feb. 12 order by a registered sanitarian to dispose of dead animals, garbage and solid waste stored on the rescue property at 5275 S. Ohio 201.

The health department also condemned a structure on the property Feb. 12 while investigating a complaint about conditions and someone living in the structure that does not have a bathroom or sewage system.

The county humane agent seized more than 100 animals, including 23 equine, from the rescue Feb. 24.

Sharon Karns, humane agent, said she is working on filing charges against Woodworth that include neglect. In an affidavit filed with a request for a search warrant, Karns said she investigated the rescue for six months and then took action because progress was not being made on improving conditions.

Karns wrote that she talked with Woodworth about reducing the number of animals at the rescue but she, instead, kept adding more.

— Nancy Bowman is a contributing writer