NW Ind. police remove 55 dogs from old farmhouse

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Police in northwest Indiana removed 55 dogs from a farmhouse after neighbors told health officials they feared that runoff from the dogs’ waste could be tainting their homes’ drinking water.

Porter County sheriff’s deputies called the situation at the farmhouse northeast of Chesterton one of the worst cases of animal hoarding they’ve seen.

When deputies and animal-control officers served a search warrant Tuesday, they found numerous dogs drinking stagnant water contaminated with urine and feces around the house.

Owner Donna Montoya says she takes care of her dogs and feeds them every day. But she concedes that she needs to reduce the number of pets in her home because taking care of them has “become a 24-hour job.”