They are pinned up in a shelter for now, but the cute, pint-sized animals have received a new lease on life.
They came from this house on Sarah Avenue in Linthicum where neighbors reported hearing the sound of dogs barking at all hours of the day and night, yet they rarely saw anyone coming and going who could care for them.
"No. I didn't know they had dogs in there at all,” said Marsha Alexander, “As a matter of fact, I hardly see people in there."
When Animal Control officers stopped by to investigate, they made a disturbing discovery.
"There was fecal matter, trash, debris everywhere,” said Lt. Ryan Frashure of the Anne Arundel County Police, “There were numerous dogs in the house---16 total dogs inside the house that smelled of fecal matter, of urine, just horrible living conditions."
One of the animals seized, a Bulgarian Husky like the one pictured here, had been reported stolen by its owner in Linthicum Heights almost a year ago, and the pet valued at more than $2,000 has since been returned.
The homeowners claim they own four of the dogs and they can get them back once they've cleaned up the house, but questions remain surrounding the other confiscated canines.
"Then we have another 11 dogs---the pictures that we're showing to the public to see if anybody can identify those dogs to make sure they're not stolen before we put them up for adoption," said Frashure.
The popular Havanese Yorkie mixes already have people interested in adopting them if no one else claims them.
Meanwhile, back in the neighborhood where the raid occurred, suspicions run high over the owners' dogs, including a black Labrador Retriever, after a woman on a nearby street reported hers recently disappeared.
"She's missing a black lab,” said Alexander, “It's been missing for about a week now, and she was sickened somebody actually had it."
If you believe any of the dogs may be your lost pet, you can contact Anne Arundel County Animal Control at 410-222-8900, and you will have to provide proof of ownership such as veterinary records or pictures to get them back.
