A neighborhood in Ross Township in Pennsylvania was recently suffering when there was a smell so pungent in the air, neighbors could not even bear the thought of going outside and enjoying their backyards.

One neighbor, Damian Miller, said that he and his family could not go outside and enjoy their swimming pool because the stench emitting from their neighbor’s home would literally burn their noses and make their eyes water. It was absolutely terrible.

Miller had reported the smell to authorities several times though nothing was done.

To much surprise, a similar incident happened 11 years ago when animal control officers found several animals inside that home. Because of that little piece of history, neighbors were aware that the same thing could be happening once again.

When authorities finally arrived to the scene, it was too late. Mary Frankovic, 65, and her son Chris, 45, were keeping over 100 dogs in their home — many emaciated.

They had so many dogs in their home, they were hiding them in the walls and in furniture. One dog was only a few days old when he had died.

The stench and health risk of entering the home was so strong, Ross Township officials and police had to wear HAZMAT suits and oxygen tanks. It had gotten so bad, it was no longer safe to enter with no protection or fresh air. At that point, ammonia levels were out of control.

“The levels of ammonia are so high, it’s not safe for humans to be in there. They have the self-contained breathing system so that they can safely go in and breathe the air they take in the tanks,” Ross Township police detective Brian Kohlhepp said.

There was a total of 117 rescued dogs, many of which were emaciated or in need of immediate medical attention. They ranged in age from newborn to seniors and most of them were Australian shepherd mixes.

Officials helped cool them off by spraying them gently with water and then loading them in a truck to be taken to Animal Friends.

“They were everywhere. They were on the second floor. They were in the basement… Several are emaciated and in need of immediate medical attention,” Animal Friends Chief Operating Officer Lauren Leffakis said.

The mother and son told authorities that they were trying to help the animals, but it does not matter. They will face hundreds of animal cruelty charges.

Authorities will also have to revisit the home to determine whether or not it is even safe to live in after that.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first case of an animal hoarding situation. This happens across the country quite often. Recently, three minor-aged girls in Edgewater, Florida were found living with 245 animals, which included 60 adult rats with 23 babies. Additionally, there were guinea pigs, dogs, rabbits, reptiles and other rodents.

They were all neglected, dehydrated, and dead.

Animal hoarding is considered to be a very serious mental illness listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

While there are some dogs from the Ross Township case still waiting to be adopted, the good news is that many are being cared for, and several have already been adopted.

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Source: Shareably