KENT COUNTY, Mich. — The Kent County Animal Shelter is searching for the owner of more than a dozen toy poodles found last week in an abandoned home.
We're told someone alerted the shelter to the dogs inside a Solon Township home on Dec. 19 just north of Cedar Springs and the shelter went to remove them.
The owner of the home told authorities they did not know how the dogs got inside.
"This is this is one of the largest groups of animals that we've found abandoned," said Angela Hollinshead, Public Health Division Director of the Kent County Animal Shelter.
Hollinshead said this is not the worst case she has seen in her career, but is one of the worst she has seen since beginning work in Kent County in June.
The shelter is now working to examine the animals and help the dogs in the worst conditions first.
"They were providing some level of care, but really not anything that we would consider adequate, as most of the poodles that we took in were really malnourished and very severely matted," she said.
As far as adoption, it's going to take some time for the shelter to examine the dogs and make sure they are healthy. She said it depends on each individual dog. Some of them will need ongoing medical care and will likely be placed into foster care.
Hollinshead said this story shines a light on people living in hoarding situations.
"I would tell everybody if you have a family member or somebody in your life who is in a situation where they have a large number of animals, or even a small number of animals, and they're struggling to care for them, reach out to us," she said.
You can reach the Kent County Animal Shelter at 616-632-7300.
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