The volunteers who work for Home Sweet Home Animal Rescue are like a family, dedicating their free time to prepare dogs for adoption. But two volunteers violated those familial bonds, according to police.

Last month, representatives from Home Sweet Home visited the Sheraden house where Troy Jackson and Jessica Kromer have cared for dozens of dogs. They discovered feces on the walls and floors and piles of garbage. A pungent stench was coming from "the dogs, the home and everything in it," according to a police report. Several dogs were underweight, and Ms. Kromer was repeatedly hitting one animal.

The shelter said Mr. Jackson and Ms. Kromer also had collected $2,125 in adoption fees from families who took some dogs, but the couple never gave that money to Home Sweet Home.

Yesterday, police officers arrested Mr. Jackson, 39, and Ms. Kromer, 23, taking them from their Ladoga Street duplex in handcuffs.

They were arraigned last night on charges of theft, cruelty to animals and harboring a nuisance because of the poor condition of the house. Both were released on their own recognizance.

A neighbor is caring for the couple's two young children.

Four dogs were removed from the home last month; all are in the process of being adopted.

"It's not going to be that easy to trust people anymore," said Melanie Taylor, founder of Kennedy-based Home Sweet Home. "I never thought someone would steal from the rescue."

The nonprofit rescue group has saved thousands of dogs in recent years, Ms. Taylor said, taking many from shelters where they would have been killed to make room for the next wave of incoming dogs. Home Sweet Home volunteers care for the dogs in their own homes until permanent homes can be found.

About 15 volunteers currently are caring for dogs.

The organization carefully screens volunteers and people seeking to adopt. In March, soon after they moved to Pittsburgh from the South, Mr. Jackson and Ms. Kromer responded to an advertisement seeking new volunteers for the group, Ms. Taylor said.

The couple was impressive, she said, quickly helping socialize two small, shy dogs. They then became involved with the adoption process, inspecting potential homes and dealing with paperwork and fees, usually $150 per dog.

The money is needed to cover Home Sweet Home's expenses, including the cost of veterinarian care.

From April to June, Mr. Jackson and Ms. Kromer completed 15 adoptions. At first, they handed the money over to the rescue group. But they soon stopped transferring money, and they began to avoid Ms. Taylor and other volunteers.

Ms. Kromer, who worked as a waitress, would give excuses for why she couldn't meet, Ms. Taylor said. She then claimed that she had left the money in her car, which had been stolen.

At least three times, dogs under the couple's care ended up in dog pounds, costing the rescue group $127 to retrieve them.

On June 17, a volunteer visited the couple's house and saw Ms. Kromer hitting a dog that had been struck by a car and had recovered from a broken hip. The volunteer took one dog with her, and three days later, Ms. Taylor came with police to remove the remaining dogs: a coonhound, a boxer mix and cattle dog.

None of the animals was harmed, Ms. Taylor said. Two now have new homes, and one is awaiting adoption.

Ms. Taylor said she again asked Ms. Kromer for the adoption fees, but Ms. Kromer repeated that the money had been stolen.

Ms. Kromer and Mr. Jackson also are responsible for $333 worth of equipment from the rescue group, including a large kennel, police said.

"We're going to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law," Pittsburgh police Officer Christine Luffey said. "Home Sweet Home trusted Troy and Jessica. They violated that trust on many different levels."