Treatment begins for nearly 300 dogs rescued from N.J. 'hoarding house'

Officials said the owners will be charged but they're concentrating on the overall health of the animals for now. Watch video

EATONTOWN -- Staff at three animal shelters in New Jersey are working feverishly to treat nearly 300 dogs pulled from a Howell Township home on Friday where they lived in "deplorable conditions" and almost never left the confines of the house, officials said on Saturday.

Crews taking turns in shifts over 10 hours removed a total of 276 dogs - ranging in age from 4 years old to 15 minutes old - from a Bennett Road home where they lived in their own filth and took up every inch of the split-level house, said Ross Licitra, chief enforcement officer for the Monmouth County SPCA.

The owners, who have not been identified, have not yet been charged, primarily because authorities are more immediately concerned at this point with addressing the health concerns of the animals who are now at three different shelters, Licitra said.

"Our first concern, first and foremost, is with the animals," Licitra said. "Monday morning we'll sit down with the prosecutor and figure out what to do."

He said charges could range from failing to provide veterinary care to allowing animals to live in inhumane conditions. He said no dead animals were found on the property.

"We have to charge them," Licitra said. "We have to get the message out to people (that) we can't allow this to happen."

He said all the animals were in "fairly good" healh for the conditions in which they were living. None had been vaccinated, spayed or neutered and all were infested with fleas, he said. Their fur was matted, their nails overgrown and they had filth on their paws and legs from living among their own feces and urine, he said.

Overall, the dogs were fed well, he said. The owners told Licitra they went through 100 pounds of food a day to feed the dogs, he said.

N.J. couple had more than 270 dogs in 'extreme hoarding situation'

The animals - mostly mixes of yorkies, poos, Chihuahuas and pugs - haven't been socialized to be among people and they're not housebroken, said Kim Tamborra, office clerk at the Associated Humane Societies of New Jersey in Tinton Falls, which took 30 of the animals.

She said the Humane Societies sent 10 of the pets to its sister-facility, the Popcorn Park Zoo in Lacey Township, to make room for more dogs it will get from the SPCA.

"We're packed to the gills. We've got animals in rooms we don't normally keep animals in," Licitra said. "The last time we were this packed was after (Hurricane) Sandy."

Licitra said his facility has 105 dogs and St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center in Madison has 141.

"They're frightened to death. The look in their eyes tells the story," Licitra said. "They're in need of help. It's sad. It's a sad situation."

The shelters are in need of donations to buy vaccines and other supplies for the animals, Licitra and Tamborra said. They need blankets, food and other items.

As the dogs' health concerns are treated, they will become available for adoption, possibly as early as Tuesday, Tamborra said.

"The phone is ringing off the hook with people want to help, adopt or foster," she said.

Licitra said the situation came to the attention of animal control officers a couple of weeks ago when an officer for the Associated Humane Societies was in the area trying to find the home of a dog that had gotten loose. The officer knocked on the door of this so-called hoarding house and heard barking of what he assumed was about 20 dogs.

Fearing it may be a hoarding situation, the officer alerted the MCSPCA, which sent an investigator to the house several times because the owners were either not home or did not answer the door, he said. Finally, on Thursday night an investigator made contact with the couple.

What the officer saw when the owners opened the door shocked him, Licitra said. There was a full-size scale of a habitrail-type habitat if tunnels and stoops for the dogs taking up the entire living room, he said.

"When you opened the door, there were at least 80 dogs staring at you - lined up on shelves like statues," Licitra said.

Because of the late hour, number of dogs, and the generally good condition they were in, Licitra said he decided to wait until Friday morning to start removing the dogs so that he would have enough time to formulate a plan.

After about four hours of work on Friday when they removed 80 dogs "our people inside were saying 'we're not even scratching the surface,'" he said.

They estimated there were another 100 dogs to take out. That 100 turned into 200 by the time they finished at 8 p.m., he said.

They were in "every nook and cranny" of the house, even living in the walls, he said.

Initially, veterinarians were administering vaccinations and treating them for fleas and worms on site as the animals were taken out. Eventually, though, they ran out of vaccine, so Licitra changed the plan to one of triage - getting them out of the house and to shelters.

One dog had given birth to a litter of four while rescuers were there, he said. He estimates at least another 20 dogs are pregnant.

Paramedics were on hand to monitor the health condition of the rescuers going inside, he said. They were being watched for physical and emotional fatigue.

"A lot of our people, they were coming out in tears," he said.

Rotating in and out were teams of between five and 10 people from the Monmouth County SPCA, St. Hubert's, Associated Humane Societies and the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office, he said.

"As we go through these animals and they become ready for adoption, they'll be hitting the floors (of pet adoption centers)" Licitra said. "We want them to live harmoniously with their new owners and be happy."