The photograph is troubling, no, downright disturbing.

It’s the eyes. They’re looking directly at the camera. They say more than the boney head that holds them or the scrawny body supporting the head. Ribs and the vertebra of the back bone are clearly defined beneath the tightly drawn black skin.

The eyes are beseeching.  They ask, “can I trust you?” or worse, “what are you going to do to me now?”

These are questions from man’s best friend. The photos were texted to the Beacon by Warwick Animal Shelter Director Ann Corvin.

Corvin, who has worked at the animal shelter for more than 25 years, has seen many badly treated and malnourished cats and dogs. It is one of the depressing features of the job. How could anyone allow another living being dependent on you to go without food or water?

This case is one of the worst she can recall given the three dead dogs found by police.

She has dealt with animal hoarders who have stuffed more than a dozen dogs into their homes. The houses are filled with fasces and reek of urine. In some cases there is food and water although it has been sullied by excrement. The fur of the dogs is often caked with fasces and crawling with fleas.

Some of the same conditions were discovered by police officer Robert Lewis when responding to the call of Animal Control officer Eric Brewster, who was investigating a reported animal neglect case at 222 Sand Pond Road on Aug. 26. Brewster had located an emaciated dog in the backyard of the residence and aimed to bring it to an animal hospital for evaluation and treatment.

In his report, Lewis says the dog had open sores on its ears “that had flies or fly larva attached.”  He goes on to say the odor of feces and urine emanated from the porch and he recognized the pungent smell of biological decay. On the porch he found three empty dog crates.  He could hear another dog in the house. Doors were unlocked. The odor of feces and urine filled the house. Lewis called his superior, Sgt. Steven Moretti, who dispatched two more officers to the scene. Brewster joined the three of them in a search of the house where they found two more dogs with no access to water or food and who were equally malnourished. Lewis and Officer Giorgio then conducted a sweep of the basement where Lewis found a black trash bag with blood on the floor around it and multiple flies around the bag. Sgt. Moretti arrived at the scene. He opened the bag to reveal the decaying remains of at least one dog. Based on the discovery of the four living dogs and the dead dog, a search warrant would be drafted to further investigate the crime of cruelty to animals.

Meanwhile a male who identified himself arrived at the property and attempted to enter the house. He told police he had come to visit a friend “John” because his phone didn’t work. He was told to leave the premises.

A short time later Detective Sergeant Sokphannareth Chea who had also responded to the scene saw a Dodge Caravan seeming to circle the block. Chea stopped the vehicle and the driver was identified as Michael Diaz, 22, of 222 Sand Pond Drive. Diaz was handcuffed and taken to police headquarters to be questioned by detectives. He was arrested and charged with three felony counts of Unnecessary Cruelty to Animals, Death Resulting, and four misdemeanor counts of Unnecessary Cruelty to Animals, Failing to Provide Adequate Living Conditions, Food and Water. Diaz was arraigned on three felonies and four misdemeanor counts before Rhode Island District Court Associate Judge Joseph Terence Houlihan Jr. on Aug. 27. Houlihan set his bond at $5,000 personal recognizance and set two conditions for pretrial monitoring (including monitoring for mental health). Diaz did not enter a plea and was referred to the public defender.

Police later found another dead dog in a trash can on the property and a third in the same black bag as the first.

The Warwick Animal Shelter is doing what it can to beef up the four emaciated dogs taken from the home.

Corvin can’t remember an incident with so many dead dogs.  The living dogs she said are skin and bones and one she concluded from scars on its head and body had “been arguing [with another dog] and got the short end of the stick.” Corvin described the dogs as pit bull or “bully” mixes and estimated them to be between 8 months and 6 years old. She believes they had been used for breeding with “variant bullies,” saying two of the three females appear to have had multiple litters. The largest of the dogs is about 95 pounds, which she put at 15 pounds underweight for its size.

Reporting on the condition of the dogs on Tuesday, Corvin said, “They’re all eating well.” They are being fed three times a day as well as being taken out of their cages for “rotation time.” Rotation at the shelter involves introducing the dogs to different rooms and outside fenced areas, which becomes a routine.

“Keeping [all dogs at the shelter] mentally sane takes a lot of work,” she said. Failing to do so becomes “warehousing, which is inhumane.” Currently, the shelter is housing 14 dogs and can’t take more.

Corvin said the incident is a good example why people buying from a breeder should visit the kennel and see the parents of the puppy they are considering and not rely on online images that can be deceiving. She also asked that when adjudicating animal abuse cases courts consider how these suspects may treat other humans and children.