Nearly 30 dogs, cats rescued from deplorable conditions in northern Pennsylvania

ERIE, Pa. (KDKA) — A shelter in Erie says it's caring for nearly 30 dogs and cats that were rescued from deplorable conditions.

The ANNA Shelter says it got a call from Pennsylvania State Police around 10 p.m. Tuesday saying that animals living in deplorable conditions needed to be removed as soon as possible.

Shelter members were up early Wednesday morning, and after four hours, they had found 19 dogs, eight kittens and a cat.

The rescue says the dogs, which vary in size from miniature Pinscher to Anatolian shepherds, were malnourished, filthy and scared. One even had a recently broken leg.

But 24 hours can make a difference. The shelter says the dogs are "all settling in on clean warm beds with food and fresh water in their bellies."

Over the next couple of days, the animals will be processed and prepared for adoption, which the shelter says will be stressful.

"Please keep these animals, our staff and volunteers in your thoughts and prayers. Like most of these situations - we don't know they're coming until they're reported. We are always as prepared as possible but no matter how "ready" we are...these larger scale rescues are resource depleting...physically, emotionally, financially, etc," the ANNA Shelter wrote on Facebook.

The organization promised that there would be "justice" for the animals, saying Pennsylvania State Police are currently investigating.

The animals have been surrendered and will be looking for new loving homes as soon as they're ready.