Noise Complaint Leads to 71 Beagles in 'Deplorable Conditions'

Animal welfare workers say 71 beagles have been removed from "deplorable conditions" in a Pennsylvania home. Barbara Morgan, an officer with the Lehigh County Humane Society, says she expects to file charges against the owner of the home near Allentown where the dogs were discovered, the AP reports. Many of the dogs, which Morgan says range from weeks old to senior-aged, were sickly and underweight. Staffers were called to the home over noise complaints, and they were shocked by what they found. "When we first got the complaint, we were told it was 25 dogs, so when we first got out there, we were not prepared for what we saw," the humane society's executive director, Mary Shafer, tells WFMZ.

"I never saw so many dogs [in] one little space in my life," Morgan adds. She notes that it's believed the dogs had been inherited from another person, and that the new owner simply became overwhelmed with their care. The Lehigh County Humane Society says in a Facebook post the dogs are being evaluated, and that information on adoption will be available in coming days. Until then, the organization is in need of donations to help care for them, including wet food, towels, sheets, and leashes. Officials say the owner may get hit with animal cruelty charges.

(More animal cruelty stories.)