LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — More than two dozen dogs were surrendered to authorities from a west valley neighborhood Tuesday and taken to the Animal Foundation, whose kennels are already packed.
Metro police and City of Las Vegas Animal Protection Services were called to the neighborhood near Rainbow and Lake Mead Boulevards by people concerned about dozens of dogs running around the front yard of a home.
When authorities arrived, they found 35 dogs in total and unsanitary conditions, including built-up urine and fecal matter, inside the home.
WATCH: Video of more than 30 dogs taken from Las Vegas residence
Wendy Ree has lived in the neighborhood for close to 15 years, and says she’s heard the barking and made calls to police about the house for months, but says even she had no clue just how many dogs were living inside.
“That is inhumane that any animal has to live in that type of environment,” Ree said. “That is too many dogs to be put in anybody’s home.”
Metro and APS contacted the homeowner after seeing what was happening inside and outside the home Tuesday afternoon, who arrived about 20 minutes later, according to the city.
The city’s news release identified the homeowner as Jacquelyn Santosuosso, who told police when she arrived at the home that she hasn’t been living there for two weeks because it needed repairs, but she still stopped by daily to feed the dogs.
Shannon Judkins visits the neighborhood often and had sympathy for Santosuosso when asked for her thoughts on the situation.
“It’s tragic but she just loves the dogs,” Judkins said. “At least she loved them and wasn’t cruel to them.”
Still, housing that many dogs is against city ordinances—only six dogs at a time are allowed in a home, or up to eight with a special “dog fancier” permit through the City of Las Vegas.
After speaking with authorities, the homeowner willingly surrendered the pups to the Animal Foundation, which is currently already taking in around 100 animals each day.
“We do not have enough kennels for the number of dogs that are in the shelter, we just don’t,” Animal Foundation spokesperson Kelsey Pizzi said Wednesday morning.
“So, everyone has to gather and figure out a plan to figure out temporary housing and kennels, to keep these dogs for the time being until kennels open up.”
WATCH: Animal Foundation seeks community holiday donations as rising costs increase pet surrenders
The dogs went through a mandatory 24-hour hold—standard for all dogs surrendered to the Animal Foundation—and health and behavior evaluations before they could be cleared for adoption.
Pizzi said via text Wednesday night that some of the dogs had been cleared and made their way to the Animal Foundation’s website.
“If someone is interested in adopting one of these 35 dogs, their best bet is to keep a close eye on our website, it’s updated every hour and they’ll see them pop up on the adoption page,” Pizzi said. “I wouldn’t wait, if you see them on the adoption page, come to the shelter because they will be adopted quickly.”
The city’s news release said Santosuosso was cited with two misdemeanors, one for having more than eight dogs without a permit, and for having an unsanitary living area for animals.
“She maybe didn’t abuse them, but bottom line, all those animals in somebody’s home? It’s not rocket science how that home looked inside,” neighbor Wendy Ree said.
If you want to help the Animal Foundation this holiday season, they’ll be holding an “Empty the Shelters” event starting this Sunday, Dec. 1 through Dec. 17. All adoption fees will be waived for all animals, except for puppies and kittens.
For more information on the Animal Foundation’s “Empty the Shelters” event, visit their website by clicking here.
To visit the Animal Foundation’s adoption section on their website, click here.
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