Detectives have criminally charged the owner of nearly 50 Belgian Malinois dogs that were found trapped together in a cramped, filthy Queens apartment, police said Wednesday.
Members of the NYPD Animal Cruelty Squad hit Isaak Yadgarov, 37, with 48 counts of cruelty to animals and 48 counts of neglecting an impounded animal — one for each maltreated pooch, officials said.
The dogs were found in the Rego Park home on 62nd Rd. near Yellowstone Blvd. around 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, cops said. There were so many jammed into a single apartment that the canines were found cowering in closets and kitchen cupboards, said officials from Animal Care Centers of NYC, which rescued the animals with the ASPCA.
Rescuers found 48 dogs in the apartment. Eight were in such poor health that they had to be euthanized on the spot, a source with knowledge of the case said.
“These dogs have reportedly lived in total confinement for their entire lives,” said Tara Mercado, ACC’s director of behavior and shelter operations. “We found full-grown Malinois hidden in cabinets and crammed behind furniture.”
More than 10 of the large, pure-breed dogs were found climbing all over each other in the apartment’s hallway by the front door, a photo taken at the scene shows. The animals, which ranged from puppies to fully grown adults, had never been outside, an ACC spokeswoman said.
Yadgarov didn’t live in the apartment and had an address about four miles away in Fresh Meadows, cops said.
Neighbors of the seventh-floor dwelling and animal rescue groups have been complaining about Yadgarov’s apartment of horrors for nearly two years. Action was finally taken after the landlord began eviction procedures, officials said.
After taking him into custody, detectives gave Yadgarov a desk appearance ticket. He’s expected to show up in Queens Criminal Court to answer the charges on June 2, cops said.
The ASPCA said the animals were “living in extremely unsanitary and overcrowded conditions.” It took two days to safely locate, recover and transport the dogs to ACC and ASPCA shelters.
The ACC was currently working on adoption procedures with breed-specific rescues that focus on working with Belgian Malinois, a spokeswoman said.
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