Another month, another large-scale animal rescue in Dearborn: Police and animal control removed 25 living cats, one living dog, several dead cats and a dead dog from a filthy home on Roosevelt, according to Fox 2.

Last month, Dearborn authorities removed more than 200 chihuahuas — some living, some dead — from the Dearborn home of Kenneth Lang Jr.

"What's in the water in Dearborn?" neighbor Daniel Burdziak asked. "There's been a lot of these cases it seems recently."

A neighbor tipped off authorities because of the strong odor coming from the house and authorities were forced to wear protective gear and breath using a respirator when entering the house.

The home's owner, Mounir Hider, told Fox 2 a couple had begun renting the house in July, and he didn't even know they had pets.

Caitlyn Wall, friends with the daughter of the family renting the house, said, "They're not like bad people, but they just didn't have the right stuff to take care of their animals."

Fox 2 reports that police tracked down the pets' owner, who had been avoiding police because of an unrelated warrant out for her arrest. She has signed over custody of the animals to the Dearborn Animal Shelter.

Update 8/28/09:  Animal control officers were back on the scene of a Dearborn home, where 26 cats and a dog were rescued.

Neighbors called animal control to report an overwhelming odor coming from the home.

Crews found 26 cats and a dog alive inside the home. They also removed five dead cats and found three cats buried in the backyard.

A dead dog was found in the garage.

According to Caitlyn Wall, her step-sister's mother and two other people moved into the rental home on Roosevelt Street in July.

"She loves animals and would do anything for them," Wall said. "Things just got out of hand."

"They had too many cats," she said. "They didn't want to give them up. They loved them all and they didn't know what to do."

According to crews, the home is filthy and the floors are covered in animal waste. The house also did not have electricity or running water.

A flea bomb was placed inside the home because workers said the home was infested with fleas.

This is the second case of animal hoarding in Dearborn in as many months (KLangcase).   Many people who live in the city have had enough.  "I think it's gross and disgusting and something should have been done," said Daryl Thied, a neighbor.

Lori Mullen said she was "shocked" when she found out the animals when she saw them being brought out by rescue crews.

The rescued cats and dog were taken to the Dearborn Animal Shelter.

"Some are a little thin. They all had fleas and flea dirt," said veterinarian Cheryl Good. "A lot of hair loss and bites all over them from scratching from the the fleas."

Reference:

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