Doggie hoarding in S. Philadelphia

Humane officers wearing Tyvek protective suits and air-filter masks to enter a South Philadelphia rowhouse Wednesday afternoon collected 50 chihuahuas - and that was just from the first floor of the three-story residence in the 700 block of Earp Street.

From the street, the stench of dog urine was hard to ignore. Inside, dog feces was everywhere, said George Bengal, director of law enforcement for the Pennsylvania SPCA.

A woman in her 50s lived the house, Bengal said. A neighbor said the woman's husband lived there, too, but he was laying low nearby while the PSPCA was collecting the animals.

The Department of Licenses and Inpections condemned the house, Bengal said.

"It's unfit for human habitation, let alone animals," he said.

In all, more than 100 animals, most of them chihuahuas, were taken away, according to some reports.

The neighbor, Angel Crusha, 50, said she has known the woman, who she would only identify as Fran, since 1988 when Crusha moved to the block.

Crusha said they quickly became friends because they both loved animals. She said the woman has a job, interacts with neighbors, and has kept private whatever was going on inside her house.

The woman "got too attached" to her dogs, Crusha said.

"It's like a tattoo," Crusha said. You get one, you want another one."

Bengal said the woman had been a breeder of chihuahuas, but apparently stopped selling them and they began to accumulate.

The PSPCA was tipped off to the situation in December, but was unable to get enough evidence for a warrant until Wednesday, Bengal said.

The woman agreed to surrender all the dogs, he said.

She is facing charges of unsanitary conditions and medical neglect for each dog, Bengal said.

"If we find anything dead in there, that changes things," he said.

The removal effort Wednesday followed another hoarding situation that required the PSPCA to respond Tuesday night to the 5700 block of North Mascher Street in Olney.

Humane officers found cats, dogs, pigeons, squirrels, chinchillas, beavers, and a fox, Bengal said.