More than 80 neglected dogs were discovered in a filthy Brooklyn home after their elderly owner died, according to officials — who arrived as one of the animals was in the middle of giving birth.
Police received a 911 call on Thursday reporting that one of the two elderly sisters living in a home on 66th Street in Mill Basin had died, according to ABC 7.
When responders arrived they found the 73-year-old woman dead in the squalid residence surrounded by the hoard of smelly, sickly dogs, ABC 7 reported.
The dogs appeared to have been neglected, and one was in the middle giving birth when animal rescuers arrived, according to the Animal Care Centers of NYC, who removed the dogs from the home with help from the ASPCA.
Photos released by the shelter show many of the dogs with matted hair living in the nightmarish conditions.
Neighbors described the home as a house of horrors that was so sickeningly pungent and loud due to the animals that it regularly prompted calls to the authorities.
“What a smell! So toxic, that you can’t even breathe,” neighbor Leeora Bernstein told ABC 7.
Police had pulled up a ladder and looked through a window as recently three weeks ago when nobody answered the door, neighbors said.
Neighbor Adam Greenberg said the police noted there were dead dogs and puppies visible from their vantage point, but there was nothing they could do to get inside.
“The cops used to come, they used to knock on the door, and they were not let in,” another neighbor, Alex Zinger, told the outlet. “They said they had no probable cause. And they were not able to kick the door in or anything like that.”
Neighbors noted that the house appeared to have no electricity — meaning there was no air conditioning for the women during this week’s historic heat wave.
At night, the sisters would use flashlights to get around, Zinger said.
The cause of the woman’s death has not been determined.
The ACC said the community support has been incredible as they work to get the dogs proper care and eventually homes.
“From fellow shelters and rescue groups to fosters, transporters, groomers, and donors, you’ve stepped up for these dogs in ways we’ll never forget,” the shelter said in a social media post Thursday night.
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