Dozens of animals, many of them dogs, were rescued from a Long Island residence so "unsanitary and dangerous" that investigators working the case had trouble breathing inside, according to an animal rescue group.
Linda Hart, a 79-year-old Ronkonkoma resident, is charged with 49 counts of animal cruelty stemming from the conditions at her home, which has been declared "uninhabitable."
She was arrested Tuesday, when members of the Suffolk County Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and Suffolk police officers executed a search warrant at her home following a complaint about distressed animals in poor living conditions, according to Roy Gross, who heads up the Suffolk SPCA.
A total of 49 animals were recovered from the residence, some dirtied by urine and feces, others severely matted and covered with thousands of maggots and flies. The dogs were all in cages throughout the home, Gross said -- and the air was so noxious that investigators had difficulty breathing during the rescue effort, he said.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
The town later placarded the home as uninhabitable.
The Islip Hazmat Unit, Suffolk County Sheriffs Department, Islip Animal Control, Islip Building Inspector, Islip Fire Marshall, Lakeland Fire Department arrived at the location and assisted.
Investigators didn't have an update Wednesday on the kinds of animals that were found, whether they would be suitable for adoption at some point or their conditions.
Local
Hart is expected to appear in First District Court in Central Islip later this month. Information on a possible attorney for her wasn't immediately available.
