NYPD was investigating Brooklyn home where over 80 dogs were rescued after woman was found dead
MILL BASIN, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Police are investigating the death of a woman in Brooklyn who was found inside a home filled with dozens of dogs that were rescued from the deplorable conditions inside.
Over 80 dogs were discovered after police responded to the East 66th Street house around 6:45 p.m. Thursday, summoned by reports of an unresponsive woman inside the home. Medics pronounced the unidentified 73-year-old woman dead at the scene.
Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC) returned to the home on Friday after it seized the dogs hidden in a labyrinth of clutter.
"We had to set traps inside because they were running loose," ACC representative Katy Hansen said of their dog rescue operation. "At one point, our director was pulling a dog out ... and it literally gave birth in her arms."
As officials investigate the woman's cause of death, ACC is finding new homes for the dogs.
Community members tell Eyewitness News that two elderly sisters lived in the home, and that residents had complained about the horrific conditions before.
"They would go to work and come back home and just, you know, never spoke to anybody," one neighbor said. "The smell was very toxic. When you passed by this house, you'd have to cover your nose."
The NYPD says its Animal Cruelty Squad had already investigated the suspected animal abuse after officers responded to the scene on May 29.
Responding officers saw the dogs inside and noticed a smell.
Looking in the windows, they saw the 73-year-old woman walking inside the home. She seemed fine and was not in medical distress.
The officers knocked on the door, then on the windows, asking for her to open the door, but she refused.
They contacted the NYPD's Emergency Services Unit, who brought a ladder to look through all the windows.
Since the woman did not appear to require medical assistance, there was nothing the officers could immediately do for the dogs without a warrant.
Police officials have reviewed video of the entire May 29 response, which was recorded on the responding officers' body-worn cameras.
The only other call for a response to the home was a 311 call in January, which was marked as unfounded.
The city's Department of Buildings has placed a full vacate order on the property until officials can determine its structural stability.
In the meantime, the ACC is in the process of vaccinating the dogs and placing them with other rescue groups that will help nurse them back to health.
"They all have a chance to be OK, that they didn't have before yesterday," Hansen said.
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