Three dogs that were living in what police called ‘horrendous’ conditions in Knoxville were rescued Thursday afternoon.
A neighbor told Channel 11 that she saw the dogs on the roof and perched in the windows.
“My neighbor and I, we would hear this all night,” said Kori, who lives in the neighborhood. “There were days that we would look at each other in the morning we were going to work like ‘Oh I didn’t sleep,’ ‘I didn’t sleep either,’ because the dogs up there howling for hours.”
Kori lives right by the house on Charles Street in Knoxville, where the dogs were left in unlivable conditions.
“I love dogs, so it’s sad to see three trapped in there,” said Terron Murphy, another neighbor.
Neighbors told 11 News that this has been going on for several weeks, and that one dog managed to get out.
“He would be on top of the roof just crying out for help,” Murphy said. “Basically he’d bark at all hours of the night. A lot of people couldn’t get any sleep.”
An officer told us that what she found inside was unacceptable.
“Oh it was horrible,” said Pittsburgh Police Officer Christine Luffey. “It looked like a hoarding situation. There was garbage and clutter and junk everywhere. All the floors were covered in animal waste which we couldn’t avoid stepping in. It was unlivable.”
Officer Luffey told Channel 11 that in Pennsylvania, dogs are considered property and there’s a process for rescuing them.
“I’ve contacted the police,” Kori said. “They would send out animal control, animal control officer Frye. An investigator got involved, she was supposed to have a warrant on the 15th of this month and it never happened.”
Officer Luffey shared that one neighbor claimed they saw someone taking care of the dogs, which made the case more complicated.
“Because of conflicting statements from neighbors, a search warrant was denied, and that’s why I took the initiative,” Luffey said. “I typed up a notice, I taped it on the door after knocking on it with no response. I could hear the dogs, I could see the dogs inside. I left the notice. This morning after court I went back out. The notice was still there.”
The notice still hanging on the door was enough proof for Officer Luffey that these dogs needed help, and her team rescued them immediately.
“I probably spent a good 16 hours a day working on this,” Kori told Channel 11.
Officer Luffey said that this happens far too often.
“Animals suffer in silence, and we need to be their voice,” Luffey said.
Officer Luffey told Channel 11 that the dogs are now safe at a shelter, and she’s hoping that they will be put up for adoption soon.
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