Liz Shepard

Times Herald

Sandy Kilby said the nine puppies surrendered to the St. Clair County Humane Society SNAP are "very cute" — and now freshly cleaned.

They were among the 98 dogs and three cats found in squalid conditions inside a Cottrellville Township home this week.

"The dogs were in great condition, they just were dirty. Health-wise, they were fine," Kilby said. "I'm so, so thankful we were able to get them to be surrendered to us."

Kilby said she has been looking for the dogs for the past several months.

The SNAP executive director said the dogs' owner had contacted her in late 2015 about surrendering more than 10 dogs. But after she had made arrangements for foster homes, he disappeared.

Kilby said she worked with animal control officials to try to find out where he was located, but was unsuccessful.

The case remains under investigation, with the township office determining possible code violations, the county health department investigating, and the prosecutor's office determining possible criminal charges, according to the St. Clair County Sheriff Department.

Deputies and animal control officers responded to the home in the 7500 block of South River Road after a neighbor complained about foul odors and non-stop barking coming from the residence. A 66-year-old man and a 56-year-old woman lived at the house.

At least 70 dogs seized from Cottrellville home

Twenty-two dogs were removed from the home by animal control on Tuesday. The homeowners on Tuesday turned over 23 dogs to a Colorado based Norwegian buhund rescue, who arranged temporary housing for the animals throughout Michigan. Another nine dogs were turned over by the homeowners to the St. Clair County Humane Society SNAP.

On Wednesday, deputies and the animal control officer returned to remove the remaining dogs. The residents refused to allow entry and a search warrant had to be requested. A total of 38 dogs and three cats were removed.

It was also discovered that the homeowners had given up six dogs to the Blue Water Humane Society before deputies returned, according to a statement from the St. Clair County Sheriff Department.

The dogs removed from the house include Norwegian buhunds and norrbottenspets, and Norwegian spets mixes.

The animals were in overall good physical condition, however they were covered in feces and urine, according to the sheriff department. The animals all had free run of the house.

The animals will be evaluated for adoption or rescue.

Contact Liz Shepard at (810) 989-6273 or lshepard@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @lvshepard.