Over 80 dogs removed from filthy Brooklyn home after woman found dead
MILL BASIN, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Over 80 dogs were removed from a home in Brooklyn after a woman was found dead on Thursday, according to Animal Care Centers of NYC.
Police responded to the house on East 66th Street. in Mill Basin for a 911 call reporting that one of the two sisters who lived there was dead.
When police arrived, they found a 73-year-old woman unconscious and unresponsive on the ground floor of the home. EMS arrived and pronounced the woman dead.
But the woman wasn't the only shocking discovery inside the home.
One by one, more than 80 small dogs were rescued and removed from the home with the assistance of the animal-care group and the ASPCA. Many of the dogs appeared to be neglected.
For years, neighbors called it a house of horrors and felt helpless.
"What a smell! So toxic, that you can't even breathe," said neighbor Leeora Bernstein.
Video and photos showed the horrible living conditions inside the home.
"And we tried to call the police. We tried," said neighbor Adam Greenberg.
They say police came many times, as recently as three weeks ago, getting on a ladder and looking in the window when no one answered the door.
"They took photos, they said I see dead dogs by the staircase. I see maybe 40 dogs, 50 dogs, I see puppies everywhere," Greenberg said.
But there was nothing they could do.
"The cops used to come, they used to knock on the door, and they were not let in," said neighbor Alex Zinger. "They said they had no probable cause. And they were not able to kick the door in or anything like that."
That was until Thursday, when the 911 call was made.
Neighbors are both horrified and relieved now. They say the dogs sometimes tried to escape the house, but otherwise, never got outside.
"Always barking, screaming, fighting," Bernstein said. "I just can't believe, over 80 dogs? That's insane."
Neighbors were also troubled by the fact that the home didn't seem to have electricity. That also meant there was no air conditioning during the heat wave this week.
Neighbors wonder if the heat, combined with the obviously filthy conditions inside, contributed to the woman's death.
"I thought originally that the house was abandoned, because it's in bad shape," said neighbor Susan Scognamiglio. "But then we heard the dogs barking."
At night, they say two women inside would use flashlights.
"They had their flashlights on the whole time, and we always got spooked at night," Zinger said.
Neighbors say they hope all the dogs, and the surviving woman who lives in the house, get the help they need.
"It's hard to take care of one dog," Nicole Scognamiglio said. "How do you have 80? As much as you love them."
The cause of the woman's death has not yet been determined.
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