More than fifty dogs have been found in terrible conditions in a home in far northwest suburban Wauconda.
Amanda Dziekanski, a director at Reach Rescue in Mundelein, told WBBM, "I've done several of these hoarding situations before, helped with them, and this, by far, was the worst conditions I have ever been in."
Reach is one of several groups that have taken in the dogs recovered from the home on Sky Hill Road that were living in unsanitary and overcrowded conditions, with no air conditioning and evidence of inbreeding among the dogs.
Dziekanski said the whole house reeked of urine and bleach and she is "so grateful that we were able to get in and get the dogs out because we couldn't breathe (inside the house) we had to keep walking out to get air. You know your eyes burn so bad that they're tearing and you can't see and there are no lights in the house so we (were) using flashlights."
There was also one cat found in the home.
The dogs, most of them chihuahua mixes, are getting medical attention and will be put up for adoption when ready.
Wauconda Police say a woman named Carol Reith has been charged with animal cruelty.