Over a dozen malnourished, neglected pets rescued from Blair County house

BLAIR COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — More than a dozen dogs — and one cat — were rescued last week from a Blair County home where they were said to be malnourished and neglected.

The Central PA Humane Society said the community noticed they opened late a couple of times and this is why.

On Monday, Aug. 19, the humane officer seized seven dogs from a house in Blair County. Two days later, thanks to a social media post, they discovered another 8 dogs and a cat were hidden in the residence, the humane society said. In total, they said 11 standard poodles, four chihuahua mixes and one cat were saved.

“This was all off social media,” said Joseph Zolna, president of the Central PA Humane Society. “There were some posts made that said ‘Free Dogs’, and they were initially for sale. They couldn’t get rid of them, then they posted it up for free on a website. When the humane officer arrived, he had seen the neglect and the condition of the animals and they were really, really bad.”

Their veterinarian was able to determine each poodle was malnourished. A majority have infected eyes, ears, and sores on the body from the weight of the matted fur.

CPHS said each poodle had significant matted fur packed with urine and feces all over their bodies. They said they have collected over 40 pounds of fur over 60 hours of grooming — each poodle averaging four to five hours to groom.

*Warning – The photos below may be disturbing for some*

“Some of them had to be sedated in order to shave their fur down and get them comfortable,” Zolna said.

The humane society is in the first steps with antibiotics and medications to lower inflammation and remove infections.

Three of the chihuahuas were placed in foster-to-adopt homes while three poodles were put in temporary foster homes due to the shelter not having enough large kennels open.

The humane society added that each day they see small steps in the animals becoming more comfortable with human interaction.

“It’s just really unfortunate that these dogs didn’t get bought,” Zolna said. “They didn’t get taken to a vet clinic properly, and probably could have saved them a lot of heartache. The dogs are a little bit timid right now. The staff is working with them to get those guys used to human touch. They haven’t had it.”

They also asked the community for help with donations for grooming, medications and overall care of the animals — as well as the need for 4Health or Diamond dry dog food. If you’d like to help, click here .

“We have a lot of money tied up in that right now from the antibiotics to the sedation,” Zolna said. “We’re going to need a lot of supplies to continue taking care of those animals. A lot of them have really bad skin infections. We have to keep them separated, keep them from digging it themselves and hopefully find some good fosters out there that want to take these guys in.”

This is a developing story, please check back for updates and download the WTAJ app to receive breaking news notifications .

As of this writing, no charges have been filed, but they are expected to come soon as officials continue to investigate.

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