Humane Educational Society Executive Director Bob Citrullo says the rescue, which involved 9 dogs, 6 cats and 2 rabbits, initially began as a child welfare check Thursday.
When the DFACS agent arrived, Citrullo says she found the home filled with debris, garbage and the family's collection of pets in varying degrees of distress.
The agent then alerted Red Bank's Police and Fire Departments. Citrullo says the fire department loaned his officers gas masks so they could enter the home and the overpowering stench of animal excrement inside.
"I've seen this before," says Citrullo. "A lot of times, people think that they are caring for them because they're feeding them, but it goes much deeper than that."
Citrullo says its apparent the animals were regularly fed, but inches of animal waste caked throughout the pens and home suggest the pets were subjected to the unsanitary conditions for weeks, if not months.
Red Bank officials are allowing the homeowners to deep clean the home in the hope that it may be habitable again.
We spoke to the homeowner off-camera who says she feared this day would come, and that she had warned her adult daughter who recently moved back into her home that the pets required more care than they could provide.
Citrullo says he hopes the pets' owner will sign over the animals so they can better care for the medical treatment they require such as mange, skin and urinary tract infections.
We cannot confirm the grandmother's account that the child welfare check was initiated by her daughter arriving late to a scheduled doctor's appointment for the child.
Friday night, Red Bank Police Chief Tim Christol referred all questions about the infant child to the Department of Children's Services.
Citrullo says charges may be pending against the pet owners, but as of now that has not been determined.
(WRCBTV - May 2, 2015)
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