Terrier dogs rescued from dead hoarder's bungalow

More than 40 terrier dogs including tiny puppies were rescued from a hoarder's bungalow so full of junk it took the RSPCA a week to find all the pets after the owner was found dead.

The RSPCA carried out a large-scale operation to recover all of the dogs after a police welfare check found the homeowner had passed away.

The bungalow in Rainham, Kent was at first thought to be home to six Yorkshire terriers but they ended up finding 41 of the animals there.

Access to the rooms was difficult due to the mountains of clutter in the property which made the pets extremely difficult to find.

The terrier dogs ranging from four-week-old puppies to 10-years-old are thought to have been left to fend for themselves for some time before the discovery of their owner's body on January 15.

The RSPCA had to clear the entire house and even set traps and set up cameras to catch and recover some of the more fearful dogs.

Animal rescue officer Brian Milligan said: 'The last two puppies we found were caught using a cat trap, which proved a tricky process as the dogs were too light to set the traps off.

'All in all this was a difficult exercise, which saw the RSPCA deploy significant resources to clear the property and ensure we found all the dogs.

'We went to the house every day over a week to conduct extensive searches to rescue every dog - in the end we had to clear every room.'

RSPCA officers returned to the bungalow this week to ensure there were no more dogs present.

Some of the dogs have received medical treatment and all of them have been given thorough vet examinations to make sure they are fit to be rehomed.

During the investigation the RSPCA liaised with the relatives of the deceased owner, who had been unaware of the extent of the problems at the property.

Sadly seven of the rescued dogs died but the rest are now being cared for at several RSPCA animal centres, with a small number being taken on by a local charity which works with the RSPCA.