90 Dogs Found In Home
A man who lived in what appeared to be a well taken care of suburban home on the outside told a different story on the inside.
After receiving complaints from neighbors about a foul odor coming from the home officials got access and found 90 dogs, feces, and trash strewn throughout.
Neighbors in the past had complained of an odor, but this week was the first time Dearborn, Michigan officials got inside. On Wednesday and Thursday, crews wearing masks to help them breathe carried dogs from the two-story home.
“There’s trash from floor to ceiling,” said Nick Siroskey, director of residential services for the city. “There’s feces and urine throughout the entire house.”
City workers, along with Friends for the Dearborn Animal Shelter, removed 42 ailing and feces-covered dogs from the home Wednesday. They returned Thursday and found about 50 more dogs.
The 56-year-old man who was living in the house was taken to a local hospital for observation. His family, which lives in Florida, was involved in his care and cooperating with officials.
The man’s sister told officials that she believed he initially had two dogs in the home and that they may have reproduced, Siroskey said. Misdemeanor animal cruelty charges were possible, but Siroskey said the man appears to have mental health issues that could be a factor in the case.
Crews pulled bags full of trash from the home to clear pathways inside. The house was deemed unfit for human habitation and the city likely will seek to tear it down, Siroskey said.
The dogs are now at the animal shelter where they are being examined. Hopefully after the dogs -mostly chihuahuas- receive proper medical care they will be put up for adoption and have a chance at a good life.
Oh my gosh, how awful! I hope that he gets the help that he needs but I hope for all those dogs that they get a chance to find wonderful forever homes really soon and that they are all ok!
This horrible story just keeps getting worse, CNN is reporting that 150 dead dogs have been found in freezers in the basement of that home.
Oh my God! That is Horrible! How could someone do that! They must have a heart of stone! My Sunni gets a little Dirty and i fel bad and clean her up. 90 dogs with feces everywhere??!! that’s not only horrible, it’s gross.
Wow! That is horrible!
I would take all of them! Only if I had a farm!
I feel bad for the dogs but also the man. There is obviously something mentally wrong with him. He needs help and I’m glad he’s in the hospital. Not sure about the dogs in the basement though. Hope the dogs are ok and can be adopted.
We live in this city and my babies and I were rescued by the shelter involved. The situation is much worse than reported earlier above and Jake’s Mom is accurate. The Dearborn Animal Shelter, where I came from, has taken in the approximately 110 dogs found alive. They are presently being evaluated for adoptiblity. There are pregnant dogs, and dogs with tumors all over them and otherwise horribly diseased. The city had a cat hoarding situation a month ago and the shelter is horribly strained. If you can help, please send donations to: http://www.dearbornanimals.org.
No organization can budget for a rescue operation like this.
This just makes me sick! Those poor dogs! I just read the press release on their website. 110 chis found alive and 151 dead in freezers. Why? I’m very curious to see if he wanted to help and just got overwhelmed or if he was intentionally being cruel to them. Considering the great lengths he went to to conceal the fact that they were there (tarps over windows, ion fans, etc.), it sounds to me like he knew full well what he was doing. I hope that’s not the case, though.
I’m just sickened and horrified by this. I was planning to make a donation to chihuahua rescue in honor of Gidget, the Taco Bell dog. Now I know exactly which rescue will be getting my money. Thanks, Ko, for posting the link to their site.
Wow, that is really bad. I hope everything turns out well for all involved.
That is shocking and awful!
Oh my gosh…how can people be so cruel?! That’s just not right.