Seen On

• May 6, 2008 11:33 pm US/Eastern
• Digg | Facebook | E-mail

  Close WindowE-mail This Page

  SPCA Rescues 56 Dogs From L.I. House Of Filth

  Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

  ---

  • Recipient E-mail:* 
  • • Your Name:* 
    • Your E-mail:* 
  • Add a Message:
  •   Send me a copy of this e-mail.

  • Type the characters in this picture:* Click here to refresh with new letters

  ---

  The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

  Send E-mail

  | Print

SPCA Rescues 56 Dogs From L.I. House Of Filth

Official: Newborn Pups Stepped On By Mothers Because There Was No Room; Stench Said To Be Overwhelming

NORTHPORT, N.Y. (CBS) ― The tiny newborn puppies, their eyes still shut, never saw the deplorable conditions the Suffolk County SPCA rescued them from on Tuesday. They're fortunate.

Seven puppies and 49 adult dogs, believed to be purebred Shihtzus, Yorkshire Terriers, and Pekingese, were living in their own filth inside Irene Monroig's East Northport home at 36 Wicks Road.

Monroig ran from media cameras as SPCA crews removed the dogs, a parrot and two baby squirrels from her home Tuesday. The conditions were so bad rescuers geared up in hazmat suits and the fire department brought in massive fans to aerate the home.

"A couple of the puppies are maybe a couple of days old," said Roy Gross of the SPCA. "The mother was stepping on them. There wasn't enough room for her.

"The smell would just knock you over. It was terrible. They were crammed into cages."

Mike Ortiz lives across the street from 66-year-old Monroig and has known her for more than 20 years.
He, like many of Monroig's neighbors, say she's not capable of being cruel to animals.

"Her biggest crime is loving animals too much," Ortiz said. "I had two raccoons in the backyard. They were babies. I gave them to her. She nursed them back to health. She's a good person.

Added Gilda Ortiz: "Very good woman. Kind. She loves animals. If she has too many it's only because she wants to give them a home."

Maryann Chernovsky runs Huntington's Little Shelter Animal Rescue, a no-kill shelter hoping to find new homes for Monroig's dogs. She's says, unfortunately, many breeders find themselves taking on more than they can handle.

"It could border on what they call puppy mill," Chernovsky said. "So even though her intentions are good, it's not always the best thing for the animals."

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

---