Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad said the 56-year-old man found on Wednesday in the suburban Detroit home with the animals may have been living with an increasing number of dogs for up to three or four years. The house was in complete disarray, very cluttered and, with 100-plus dogs running around in there, very filthy," he said.
A criminal investigation was under way at the two-story brick home, Haddad said. He said the case could be forwarded to prosecutors for possible animal-cruelty charges. Haddad said 112 live dogs had been removed from the home as of Friday, and police believe about five more may be hiding inside. He declined to release details about the breed of the dead dogs.
The man living in the house was taken to a local hospital for observation. He had no health insurance and a mental impairment that stemmed from rubella as a child, and had lived for years alone in the home after his parents retired to Florida, said lawyer James G. Schmier, who was acting as a family spokesman. "I think this is a very human story of a guy who had some very severe mental issues," Schmier said.
Neighbours in the past had complained of an odour at the Dearborn home, which had a neatly cut lawn and manicured bushes. But this week was the first time officials got inside, and crews needed masks to breathe.
Trash was piled from floor to ceiling in places, and faeces and urine was throughout the home. Forty-two ailing and feces-covered dogs were rescued on Wednesday. Crews returned on Thursday and found more than 60 dogs, and about 10 more were rescued Friday, police said.
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