55 Dogs Removed from Northwest Indiana Home

It was described as one of the worst cases of animal hoarding

UPDATE: Authorities went back Thursday and recovered more dogs

Fifty-five dogs -- some of them diseased and at least one of them injured -- were removed from a home in Northwest Indiana Wednesday by Porter County Sheriff's police and animal control officers, authorities said.

Donna Montoya, 50, who lives in the home just outside of Chesterton faced a number of counts of cruelty to animals, and the property owner could faces charges as well, reported the Sun-Times.

Animal control officers first went to the home in November after neighbors told the local health department they were worried that animal waste was getting into their drinking water, according to the Times of Northwest Indiana. On a subsequent visit, Montoya surrendered seven puppies which were infested with fleas, officials said.

But it wasn't until Wednesday that Porter County moved in to remove all the dogs, mainly because they wanted to be sure they had a place to take the animals. 

During the operation, two officials were bitten by the dogs and required medical attention.

Montoya reportedly told authorities she thought she was doing the right thing by keeping the dogs and not giving them up.

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