Rescuers say they found about 41 dogs in the rafters and walls of a grime-covered, feces-filled house in New Jersey Thursday.
Dozens of golden retrievers and Australian shepherd-border collie mixes were pulled from the abandoned dwelling on Spruce Street in Lakewood, the Asbury Park Press reports.
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The Husky House rescue told the newspaper that the doorways were so caked with feces that they had to pull the animals out through a first-floor window. Some dogs were found in the walls of the home, while others were walking on second-story rafters because the floors had disintegrated.
"I've never been in a situation that was this bad," said Lorraine Healy, the rescue's president. "There was not an inch of anything that was saturated and soaked in urine and feces. These dogs came out of there, and we were shaving dogs down last night until three o'clock in the morning."
The rescue said in a Facebook post that that about 50 pounds of matted dirt and feces had been shaved off the six dogs it took in, and they were playing Friday morning after being groomed.
Healy told NBC 4 New York that the dogs appear to have been releatively well fed and should be available for adoption in two weeks.
It's not clear who owns the home or how long the animals had been there.
