Standing a few feet away from the dogs, you could smell them. Animal welfare reps say pets and their owners were living in dangerously dirty conditions.
A large metal cart was rolled in, but it was not even half of the dogs rescued from a house of filth.
“The original call came in from a citizen that was concerned that the dogs were running at large and when we go there we found more than expected,” Julie Banks, with Oklahoma City Animal Welfare says.
Worker after worker, all paws were on deck.
“They found these guys, 25 small breed dogs, living in a situation where there was feces, dirt,” Bank says.
Then there was the smell.
“They were inside and outside and when we got there, it was pretty dirty and from the minute we got there, there was an odor,” Bank said.
An odor from 25 animals taking potty breaks inside wherever they could find.
“The humans were also living in this type of situation, and when we come across this type of problem, we will involve adult protective services,” Bank said.
Not only was adult protective services called to this hoarding situation, animals were piled on top of one another, scared to interact with humans.
“People are feeling that they’re caring for them, and then it gets out of control and they can’t,” Bank says.
In this case, the people will not be facing charges.
“It got out of hand, what we’re trying to do is work with this particular pet owner to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” Bank said.
Investigators say there was at least one elderly person living in the home.
They say a simple spay or neuter could have prevented the chaos.
The dogs were originally going to be available for adoption on Thursday.
However, after two of the dogs started showing signs of illness, animal welfare officials decided to quarantine the dogs for about two weeks before they place them up for adoption.
(KFOR - March 17, 2015)
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