Two male dogs were pulled from the basement of a Bronx apartment building on Fox Street after a newly appointed building superintendent found them living amid their own urine and feces, covered in open sores and, in one case, maggots burrowed beneath the fur and skin. Both dogs are now receiving emergency veterinary care after suffering what has been described as severe neglect.
The dogs were discovered in the basement of the building on Fox Street in the Bronx, according to ABC7 Eyewitness News. It is unclear exactly how long the dogs had been confined there. Both animals had severely matted fur, fleas, and infections by the time they were found, and one dog had maggots underneath its fur and in its skin.
The station reports that the previous building superintendent became terminally ill and left the area, abandoning the dogs behind in the basement. It was the newly installed superintendent who discovered the two male dogs and then contacted NYC Second Chance Rescue for help, the outlet notes.
Rescue Group Steps In With Emergency Care
NYC Second Chance Rescue took custody of both dogs and moved them into emergency veterinary treatment, per the same account. Founded in 2009, the organization has saved more than 17,000 dogs and cats from severe neglect and municipal shelter euthanasia, according to Resident Magazine. The nonprofit is now raising money to cover the dogs' medical treatment, the article notes.
The rescue group typically finances emergency medical bills for animals in cases like this through charitable galas and fundraisers, including an August 2026 Concert for a Cause in Bridgehampton and a May 2026 Rescue Ball that raised $85,000 from a vintage car auction alone, according to The Knockturnal. Those private donations are often what allow the organization to absorb high-cost cases that municipal shelters cannot immediately handle.
What New York Law Says About Neglect Like This
Under New York Agriculture and Markets Law § 353, failing to provide proper sustenance or unjustifiably neglecting an animal is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison and fines up to $1,000, according to Dupée & Monroe, PC. New York appellate rulings, including the 2005 decision in People v. Mahoney, have established that the statutory requirement to supply sustenance explicitly includes providing necessary veterinary and medical care, per the New York State Humane Association.
If neglect is found to rise to the level of intentionally causing serious physical injury or extreme pain in a depraved manner, it can be charged as aggravated animal cruelty under Agriculture and Markets Law § 353-a, a felony carrying up to two years in prison, according to the Suffolk County SPCA. Whether any charges will ultimately be pursued against the former caretaker remains an open question. Animal cruelty reports made through 311 or 911 in New York City are directed to local precincts and investigated by the NYPD's Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad in partnership with the ASPCA, according to NYC.gov, while the Bronx District Attorney's Office runs a dedicated Animal Cruelty Prosecution Initiative that could take up the case.
Part of a Bronx Pattern in 2026
The Fox Street case follows a string of severe animal neglect investigations in the Bronx this year, including an August case in which a $1,000 reward was offered after an emaciated dog was found bound on a Morrisania rooftop. Between 2013 and 2022, the NYPD and ASPCA investigated 2,783 suspected cruelty cases involving more than 5,700 animals citywide, with dogs making up roughly 80 to 82 percent of victims, according to Hoodline's earlier reporting.
That earlier reporting also noted that Animal Care Centers of NYC approached its 1,000-animal capacity threshold in July 2026, a surge driven by post-pandemic increases in surrenders and rescue requests. The strain on municipal shelters has left private groups like NYC Second Chance Rescue to absorb many of the most critical cases, including the two dogs now recovering from the conditions found on Fox Street.
