A troubling image has surfaced from a Brooklyn hoarding situation where an elderly woman was discovered deceased amid 80 neglected dogs.
The photograph depicts a chaotic interior of the Mill Basin residence, overflowing with trash, wooden dog boxes, cardboard containers, and crammed mattresses all over the floor.
The unnamed woman lived on the ground floor with her sister, surrounded by waist-high piles of refuse and broken items, as the grim picture illustrates.
An “exit” order from the city was affixed to the front door, while workers commenced the removal of at least seven dogs from the residence at 66th Avenue and National Drive on Friday.
“I really hope the dogs are okay, though I thought they were being bred,” a postal worker noted during a visit. “Sometimes, you could smell urine or feces from outside.”
The sister’s small puppy was suffering from severe neglect, with its fur matted into a dreadlock, and another dog was in labor when authorities arrived.
The NYC Rescue Animal Care Center began removing the dogs on Thursday, with more rescuers returning the next day.
One neighbor described the home as a “house of terror,” noting the awful smells and the constant noise of barking dogs, as reported by ABC 7.
Moreover, it appeared that the sisters had no electricity, which meant no air conditioning during the severe heat wave of the week. They were reportedly using flashlights at night, according to a neighbor’s account.
The cause of the woman’s death remains unclear.
