More than 80 dogs were found inside a Brooklyn home where a woman was found dead, according to police and animal shelter officials.
Officers were called just before 7 a.m. Thursday to East 66th Street in Mill Basin regarding an unresponsive woman. The 73-year-old was found on the ground floor, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Another woman was found alive inside the house, and she was evaluated by EMS, police said.
During the investigation, first responders found a large number of dogs inside the building — so many that officials couldn’t even enter the home at first, according to the Animal Care Centers (ACC) of NYC. The group said many of the dogs were “severely matted” and most appeared to be sick.
“All have been living in unimaginable filth,” the ACC said in a post on Instagram.
In all, 83 dogs were removed from the filthy home, though officials didn’t know if there were more still around. One of the dogs gave birth as she was being rescued, the ACC said.
The canines would all be taken to a shelter in Queens, according to the ACC, which was looking for people to adopt the dogs.
The medical examiner had not yet determined a cause of death for the 73-year-old woman.