On Friday, more than 115 malnourished dogs were rescued from a home in Brooklyn, following the owner, Eileen Horn’s, death. Five of the dogs were found dead. The owner’s sister reported her death to authorities on Thursday, which prompted police to enter the home and make the shocking discovery.
Police entered the home on E. 66th Street at 6:30 am on Thursday and discovered Horn dead on the first floor of the squalid home. According to the Daily News, neighbors said that at least one of the dogs was giving birth to puppies when animal rescuers were called in, and that the creatures were living under piles of trash and a five-inch thick layer of feces across the dwelling.
Sean Casey, owner of Sean Casey Animal Rescue, reported that the dogs are “all extremely nervous and tense, they’ve probably never seen the outside world. They’re not aggressive or anything like that, but they’re all just terrified.”
The city’s 311 database shows that despite repeated calls by neighbors and complaints of animal abuse and unsanitary conditions dating back to 2014, no action had been taken to rescue the animals. Though police responded to each call, the cases were closed as authorities could not enter the residence without a warrant.
Friday’s rescue mission is one of the most dramatic and largest in recent memory. A neighbor of the Mill Basin home told the News, “She had to die to save her animals.” Eileen Horn was a 73-year-old retired school psychologist who lived with her younger sister. A city medical examiner’s autopsy has been scheduled to determine Horn’s cause of death.
According to neighbors, the sisters had lived in the home for many years after inheriting it from their parents, who passed away in the 1960s. One neighbor reported, “The two siblings kept to themselves, rarely interacting with their neighbors. In recent years, they stopped even food shopping in the area and had everything delivered.”
The malnourished dogs are being rescued from the home by ACC and the ASPCA. In a positive turn for the heartbreaking case, the ACC posted to Instagram on Saturday that 68 of the dogs have already gone to loving homes and safe havens. The rescue organizations expect that all of the dogs will be adoptable.
The ACC wrote in another post on Instagram, “In the face of heartbreak, the rescue community rose up. We’re in awe of the outpouring of support following the Brooklyn rescue. From fellow shelters and rescue groups to fosters, transporters, groomers, and donors, you’ve stepped up for these dogs in ways we’ll never forget.”
