In a distressing discovery in Queens, around 40 Belgian Malinois were found living in squalid conditions within a single apartment, local animal rescue groups have reported. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and the Animal Care Centers of New York City (ACC) conducted a rescue operation, revealing that the dogs lacked access to fresh air or sunlight and had apparently never been outside before, CBS News New York reported.
According to ACC, these canines, ranging from young puppies to adults, likely have never experienced walking on a leash or touching grass, as ACC Director of Shelter Medicine Biana Tamimi stated in an interview reported by The New York Post, and were even found crammed behind furniture and hidden in cabinets, ACC Director of Behavior and Shelter Operations Tara Mercado revealed to CBS News New York.
The NYPD has opened a criminal investigation into the matter while neighbors expressed shock at the hoarding situation, with the apartment's foul stench and the owner's practice of discarding pet waste from the balcony having been long-standing issues, neighbors, speaking anonymously, told The New York Post. One of the apartment's residents was reported by a neighbor as saying, “We all assumed there were two or three dogs in there, we would never have imagined that they were that many, we never saw them ever, anywhere.”
The dogs, currently receiving evaluations and treatments by the ACC and ASPCA, are not available for adoption at this stage due to their fearfulness and lack of socialization, needing long-term behavioral support with every new sound, every human interaction being overwhelming for them, but there is hope as they display signs of curiosity, Tamimi told The New York Post. As the ACC faces overcrowding with their Queens location harboring over 200 dogs, nearly triple their capacity, and other locations managing additional animals, they are desperately seeking foster homes for these dogs and have waived the adoption fees for those weighing more than 40 pounds, CBS News New York provides details on how to get involved in fostering or adopting.
