Nearly 20 dogs were found rotting in their own filth by a stunned police officer who visited a Miami home during a welfare check.
Officers initially visited the home to pay an elderly woman a welfare check.
Police made their way through the backyard of the home when they noticed the entryway was completely littered with garbage.
They then noticed four tiny puppies were placed inside an uncovered ice cooler surrounded by urine and feces.
‘Puppies are alive? I don’t know, one looks like it’s almost breathing, but,’ one of the Miami Beach Police officers can be heard saying on bodycam video obtained by NBC Miami.
The puppies were four weeks old, had no access to food or water, and appeared lethargic, the outlet reported.
Investigators said that the puppies were part of a group of 19 dogs in total that lived in the home that belonged to an elderly woman.
‘What we saw inside was heartbreaking to say the least,’ said Miami Beach Police spokesperson Christopher Bess.
Officials say 19 pups were found rotting in their own filth after visiting a Miami home during a welfare check
Each one of the 19 dogs was removed from the residences and taken in for medical care by Miami-Dade animal services, according to 6 South Florida
‘The elderly female, in addition to 19 dogs, were living in deplorable conditions, four of which were puppies that were hanging on dear life,’ Bess said.
‘You had holes in the floor, holes in the ceiling, broken windows, and feces everywhere,’ he added.
Police arrested Jorge Morillo, 50, alleging Morillo lived at the residence intermittently for about five years, as he was supposed to be a caretaker for the elderly woman.
Miami Beach police were shocked to find more than a dozen dogs left inside a filth-ridden cooler in the 4300 block of North Michigan Avenue under the care of 50-year-old Jorge Morillo
Morillo was charged with one count of animal cruelty and faces possible jail time.
‘He took advantage of our victim, and he’s paying the price as we speak,’ said Bess.
The dogs were removed from the residence and taken into medical care by Miami-Dade animal services, NBC Miami reported.
The elderly woman was transported to Mount Sinai Medical Center for evaluation.
