The dogs have now been taken to a quarantine facility to be checked for injuries and disease.
As for the house they were in from the outside many would never have imagined what was inside.
Amy Shrodes, with the Central Oklahoma Humane Society, said, “There’s really no way to explain it. It was like walking in to another world. The smell alone was unbelievable.”
Spencer Chief of Police Virgil Green said, “I did see a lot of animals that were coming out from everywhere. It was something I had never dealt with before.”
Shrodes said, “We walked into the living room and there was floor to ceiling piles of stuff. Feces were all over the floor, urine all over the floor. We couldn’t even tell what the floor was, if it was wood or carpet.”
The humane society took several photos inside as they worked Saturday to rescue the animals.
In one of the rooms they found a mattress filled with dogs.
Shrodes said, “The dogs had eaten through the mattress and were living in the coils and there were holes in the walls where they had chewed through to try to get out of the room. So, there were some of them up in the walls in that room, too.”
Feces and fleas were everywhere.
Shrodes said, “We wore masks so every time we were coming in and out of the house we had breathing masks on.”
Green said, “Here’s a lady who had an open heart. I believe she got overwhelmed with the amount of dogs.”
Police say the woman who owned the home recently lost her husband and is now receiving some medical care.
As for the animals, they are still being checked out for injuries and illness.
Shrodes said, “A lot of them have skin problems. A lot of them need to be shaved.”
They are being shaved because their fur was matted by urine and feces.
It’s a scenario those with the humane society will not soon forget. Shrodes said, “I’ve just never seen living conditions like this.”
The humane society says if you know someone hoarding animals you should contact Adult Protective Services or even police.
As for the animals, some will be staying here in Oklahoma, others will end up at a rescue in Colorado.
If you would like to help the Central Oklahoma Humane Society with the cost associated with rescuing and caring for the dogs you can do so by going to their web site.
(kfor.com-Aug 12, 2013)
