A Eureka man is accused of animal cruelty and neglect following an investigation by the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office.

Ilya Petrovich Kovalenko, 41, faces dozens of counts, including several felonies, of failing to properly feed, house and care for more than three dozen dogs, including one canine who died following the alleged neglect.

Kovalenko is charged with 36 felony counts and one misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals for mistreatment and neglect by confining the animals in a cruel manner.

He also is charged with 34 felony counts of animal cruelty for failing to provide food and water of sufficient quantity and quality to sustain the animals' normal health.

In addition, Kovalenko is accused of 35 more counts of animal cruelty for failing to provide 35 animals with licensed veterinary or other appropriate medical care in cases of immediate, obvious, serious illness or injury.

Kovalenko was not on scene during the execution of the search warrant.

County animal control officer Andrew Smith led the investigation after someone called June 27 to report possible animal neglect.

After looking into the claim, the sheriff’s office got a search warrant for the property, documented the evidence and seized any animals on the property.

The warrant was served Friday, July 17, and county deputies were assisted by officers from the Eureka Police Department and U.S. Border Patrol agents. 

The seizure included 40 dogs, consisting of Pomeranians, Huskies and mixed breeds. Also, seized were two ponies, two chickens, two rabbits, one goat and four cats.

All the animals seized were taken into custody of Lincoln County and were evaluated and treated by a veterinarian.

The animals were surrendered July 18 by the owner and are in the process of being re-homed.

Shelter officials said in a Lincoln County Animal Shelter - Montana Facebook July 19 post that the livestock was relocated to a property where they are receiving excellent care. Also, 13 dogs were transferred to the Tobacco Valley Animal Shelter.

County animal shelter manager Tammy Brown told The Western News that the cats are in foster care, but still available for adoption.

After the animal seizure, The physical conditions of all of the animals were documented in a separate report that was created using the information provided by veterinarian Dr. Sonnicant Gilbert.

The deceased dog was collected and examined by Dr. Gilbert. Due to the decomposition of the dog, the

cause of death was not able to be determined.

All of the animals were documented at the time of the seizure, assigned animal identification numbers,

and loaded into transport vehicles. They were then transported to the Lincoln County Animal Shelter for more to be evaluation.

Using the Body Condition Score method, from 1-9 for dogs, Smith determined that 15 canines were rated at 2 and seven more were rated at 1.5.

Deputy Smith reported he was assisted by fellow deputy Scott Welchons and U.S. Border Patrol agents Jason

Lane, Josh Tracy and William Carolan.

"Once the scene was secure, I conducted a preliminary evaluation of the conditions of the animals on

scene," Snmith wrote in his report. "Based on the poor housing of multiple animals, I determined that probable cause existed to seize the animals on the property. I then contacted the team I had assembled to assist with the seizure and advised them that it was safe to respond to the property."

The officers seized 40 live dogs, one deceased dog, two ponies, two rabbits, four cats, two chickens and one goat.

Smith said the dogs were the primary concern regarding the cruelty aspect of this investigation, based on the

conditions in which they were housed and their overall health.

"With the exception of four of the 40 dogs, the remaining dogs were all kenneled together in enclosures that did not have adequate space for the number of dogs in each enclosure. Multiple dogs were placed in kennels with access to only one or two areas to receive minimum shelter from the elements. Of the four remaining dogs, two were free roaming, one was cabled up outside of a kennel and one was contained within what appeared to be an old animal control vehicle that was made of metal."

Smith also described the conditions of the areas where 37 dogs were housed.

"Due to the poor, overcrowded conditions of the areas where all but three of the 40 dogs were housed,

including the urine and feces soiled bedding that caused urine scalding on multiple dogs, as well as the

lack of shelter from the heat, I observed conditions consistent with cruel confinement," Smith wrote. "Specifically, three of the dogs were confined in an area where the ground itself was completely saturated with feces and urine, creating a completely muddy environment. One dog was contained within an old metal animal control truck with very little ventilation and bedding saturated with urine and feces. Multiple dogs were housed in plywood enclosures where the only ventilation consisted of a small opening on the front door and small holes drilled into the top, subjecting the dogs to high heat within these enclosures."

According to the investigators, one male Husky suffered suspected heat stroke and a broken tooth. A female husky was euthanized due to prolonged neglect, which resulted in severe emaciation and muscle wasting.

Another male Husky had severe, life-threatening emaciation, visible bone structures and significant loss of muscle mass from a lack of food and water. It required immediate emergency veterinary triage and nutritional intervention.

Two male mixed breed dogs also had similar medical problems, also requiring immediate emergency veterinary triage and nutritional intervention.

Convictions on all counts could lead to 210 years in the Montana State Prison and $262,500 in fines.

The Lincoln County Animal Shelter - Montana Facebook page shared a slideshow of the some of the newest dogs available for adoption or foster care.

It also said those willing to donate dog food should make it Purina Pro Plan.

For more information or to ask about fostering or adopting, call 406-293-5665 or send an email to [email protected]. 

The shelter’s operating hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.