When sheriff's deputies arrived, they found an unconscious woman, surrounded by dogs amid animal waste and a stench so foul that firefighters, deputies and employees from the Sandusky County Dog Warden's office needed to use masks and self-contained breathing equipment because of it.
"There weren't any windows open in the home," said Deputy Angelo Jaso, the first on the scene. "It was like an oven in there."
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| Animals were loose in the house as well as locked in cages |
Officials counted 22 dogs inside the house at 4444 Hayes Ave., and 14 more in outdoor kennels and inside an outbuilding behind the home.
When Jaso arrived, all entrances to the home were locked and he asked for someone to bring bolt cutters. Once the front door was forced open, Jaso said, several dogs poked their heads out.
"Before we walked in, all the dogs were sticking their noses out, just dying to get out," he said.
Jaso said some of the dogs were covered in their own feces and the smell of urine permeated the home. Some of the dogs looked dehydrated, he said, and quickly ran to a bowl of water outside after he opened a door. Three cats and a Cockatoo also were found at the home.
The woman, [later identified as Susan G. Baker, 68], regained consciousness at home before being taken by ambulance to Fremont Memorial Hospital, but was not making much sense, said Chief Deputy Bruce Hirt.
"It's a real mess in there," Hirt said.
Jaso said he found the woman, who apparently lives alone, unconscious in a recliner with the television on.
One of the deputies was bitten by a dog while working at the home and was treated by medical personnel for the bite.
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| One of the rescued dogs. Notice the matted fur from the shoulders down? It's probably full of feces, urine. |
Sandusky County Humane Society President Joanne McDowell said the society's shelter at 2520 Port Clinton Road was already overflowing with animals and the 36 dogs are pushing them over the edge.
"We don't know where to put them all," McDowell said. "We are hoping we can foster some of them out."
She said the animals need to be kept at the shelter for legal reasons while a humane society agent investigates the case for possible charges against the pet owner. The dogs were all very scared, dirty and some were sick when they arrived, McDowell said.
"They smell; they are covered in feces," she said. "It's just so sad. I went back there and just broke into tears."
McDowell said the humane society has a history with the Hayes Avenue home, but an agent visited a year or two ago and confirmed that everything was clean and the dogs were being taken care of.
She said the county humane society is in desperate need of financial help to pay staff to take care of the extremely high number of animals at the shelter and to cover higher-than-usual veterinarian bills.
"We need money," McDowell said.
Eight of the dogs were taken to the veterinarian Friday, she said.
The Sandusky County Health Department also was contacted by deputies about the conditions inside the home.
UPDATE TO STORY: 36 counts of Animal Cruelty were filed against the woman. On Oct 3, 2011, she appeared at her bonded arraignment and pleaded not guilty.
(News Messenger - July 30, 2011)
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