2 arrested after police find filthy California home crowded with 38 dogs

A woman and man were arrested in Oroville after a police officer found a home in the Butte County seat packed with 38 dogs living in a dismal environment.

Staff members and volunteers from the community animal shelter, Northwest SPCA, rescued the animals over more than five hours, the Oroville Police Department said in a social media post.

An officer was patrolling the area Wednesday when a resident approached, reporting that “several dogs were living in dangerously substandard conditions at a nearby home,” the department said.

At the home, the officer found an open door, smelled “a strong odor,” and saw “disturbing living conditions inside,” he police said. The dogs were living amid a mix of trash, bugs, tar and their own feces, according to the police. The officer found a puppy dead in a crate in what the police said was the bedroom of the woman later arrested.

Photos released by the Oroville Police Department show several dogs contained in kennels, some stacked high. The home appears to be filled with trash, including piled cardboard boxes.

The police called in Oroville code enforcement officials, who started to red tag the property for “health and safety violations,” according to the police statement.

After the animal shelter collected the 38 dogs, its kennels reached their full capacity, Northwest SPCA announced in a Wednesday afternoon Facebook post that did not mention the mass rescue. The group waived adoption fees for qualified pet owners to pick up the canines.

The Oroville police arrested the woman and man, both of whom are 42, on Thursday and booked each into the Butte County Jail, the police said. The woman was expected to be charged with 78 felony counts of animal cruelty and abuse and five misdemeanor counts of animal torture; the man faced two counts of the former and one of the latter, booking logs show.