A dozen or so corgis are safe, warm, and begging for dog biscuits at the Animal Shelter of Schoharie Valley after being seized from a Summit home.
Bonnie Morris, 69, was charged with 11 counts of failure to provide sustenance last Wednesday after State Police and the Schoharie County Sheriff's Office said the dogs were left alone without food and water for four days.
Also seized was a German shepherd.
A pit bull that had been at the Route 10 home wasn't there when the ASSV arrived to take the dogs.
"It's a sad situation," said ASSV Director Kerrie Colin Thursday. "These people were living without running water, heat, electric..." and there was dog feces inches deep on the floor as well as black mold on every wall.
"When you see someone living like this, do something. Call the Office for the Aging. Call the shelter. There are things we can do to help."
Ms. Colin said it took four hours and two trips to collect the dogs, which were frightened and cowering when they arrived at ASSV but are now settling in.
Neighbors said they had reached out to Ms. Morris and her husband, delivering food, and had also complained to town officials about the dogs' barking.
Ms. Morris' husband died at home on March 10, setting off a chain of events after her daughter moved her out of the home to Schenectady, police said.
The investigation began after neighbors called, noting no one had been there to care for the dogs for days; the dogs, many of which are scarred with ingrown nails, were rescued that same day.
The seized dogs range in age from about six months to 13 years old and now include two puppies, born after an emergency cesarean section on one of the dogs.
They won't be able for adoption until they're all spayed and neutered, Ms. Colin said, and some of them may need more time to become socialized.
The dogs were being used for breeding, she said.
So far the ASSV has received more than 75 applications to adopt one of the corgis and has stopped taking them.
Ms. Morris, who was described as frail, was issued an appearance ticket for April 6 at the Town of Summit Court; she could be find as much as $1,000 for each of the 11 counts.
"The important thing is that the dogs are safe and warm and now, she is too," Sheriff Tony Desmond."
Though more than 100 cays were rescued from a Town of Wright hoarding situation a few yeas ago, this is the most dogs ever brought into the shelter at any one time, Ms. Colin said.
With their arrival, space at the shelter is nearly maxed out, said volunteer Mary Lou Garrett; people who'd like to help can donate small breed dog food or cash.
For more information, or if you know of someone who needs help feeding their pets, contact the ASSV at 296-8390.
You can also contact the Sheriff's Office's confidential tip line, 295-2295, for people or pets needing help, or the office for the Aging at 295-2001 for people.
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