Authorities are still looking for the owner of 38 dogs. 37 are German Shepard mixes, one is a Chihuahua, they range in age from 6 months to 7 years, one is believed to be pregnant and all are very dirty and matted.
They were taken from a house in Highland which was deemed to be abandoned. It was red-tagged as substandard
Neighbors say it was no surprise there were lots of dogs in the house especially during the early hours of the morning when the owner would let them run outside. Marilyn Swetkovich, who lives in the neighborhood, says "It would be the wee hours that you'd hear them. My husband complained of them barking all the time." When we asked if she knew what was going on in the house, Swetkovich said, "oh we knew about it… he's raising dogs."
But, neither she nor authorities have any idea where the owner is. And, at this point, it's not clear if there would be animal cruelty charges that would be up to investigators after the owner is found.
Greg Beck, with the Devore shelter, says, "It's sad. It could have been avoided. These don't look like bad animals. They're temperament is okay. They seem healthy. So, overall it could've been worse but its still not a good situation.
Beck says, if the owner doesn't appear by April 14th the county will take control of the dogs and, it's at that point, they could put up for adoption.
Copyright 2016 FOX 11 Los Angeles : Download our mobile app for breaking news alerts or to watch FOX 11 News | Follow us on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , and YouTube . Be a citizen journalist for FOX 11 and get paid - download the Fresco News App today.