JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — 130 dogs need new homes after being taken from a house on Jacksonville’s Westside Friday.
Animal Care and Protective Services carried the chihuahua mixes out of the home in Lackawanna, bringing them to the ACPS shelter on Forest Street. The ACPS chief said the dogs are in good health, but the challenge now is finding them all new homes. He said the dogs were not all spayed and neutered, making it illegal.
People who live near the house where the dogs were taken said they’re relieved.
“One hundred thirty dogs? That’s a lot," said Eric Smith. "In one house? That’s a lot.”
For years, Smith said he smelled and heard dogs across his street and saw dog food delivered for four years.
“And the whole time you heard barking and there was a smell?” asked First Coast News.
“All the time,” Smith said.
ACPS Chief Mike Bricker and his team vaccinated the dogs in front of the home Friday. He said the home's owners rented the property, but rent wasn’t paid the last few months and when the owners came to check on their house, they found the dogs inside.
“They’re chubby," Bricker said about the dogs. "There was puppies that we took earlier, this guy’s a puppy. Yeah, we don’t really think that there’s anything major going on with them.”
Bricker said he doesn't think the renters had been gone long. It's unclear whether they will face charges.
“There’s no legal limit as long as they’re taken care of," Bricker said. "If you have any more than five they have to be spayed and neutered.”
These dogs were not spayed and neutered, Bricker said. The next challenge is finding them new homes quickly since Bricker said 300 dogs are already at their shelter.
Smith is relieved.
"That’s a lot, I mean that’s a huge, a big number," he said. "You wouldn’t think that’s in a house. I mean, you hoarding animals. That’s insane.”
Bricker said the dogs will be up for adoption soon at the ACPS shelter on Forest Street.