A mother-daughter duo are behind bars, facing 154 animal cruelty charges each, reports Local 10.
According to the Miami-Dade County Animal Services Department, an anonymous report of animal cruelty alerted investigators to the deplorable living conditions of more than 80 dogs and other animals, reportedly including ferrets, parakeets, and two sugar gliders.
Rescuers found the dogs inside filthy crates aboard a truck last week at the Southwest Miami-Dade home of Maria Crespo and her mother Teresa Horta-Barrial, who both tried to run when discovered.
They also found that the home had no electricity or water, according to CBS Miami, and that the women were in denial of the neglectful living conditions of the dogs.
“They are not without food, they were not without water, not without love, because all of them had love," Crespo said.
But investigators say the dogs were crammed together in cages that were too small and forced to stand in one to two inches of their own feces.
"Animals in this condition that they were, and the way they were caring for, it's just overwhelming for anybody," Miami-Dade Animal Services representative Luis Salgado told Local 10. "Every cage that we saw that was there had at least three inches of dried fecal matter."
One puppy had been sitting in his own feces and urine for so long that his coat is still stained.
Many of the dogs have already been rescued, but several of them still remain under the care of rescue organizations and are in need of a loving home. Those interested in adopting one of the pups should contact the Humane Society of Greater Miami or the Humane Society of The Palm Beaches.
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