ST. LOUIS – The Humane Society of Missouri’s Animal Cruelty Task Force completed its largest rescue operation of 2023 on Thursday, extricating dozens of Yorkies and other small dog breeds from a hoarder in Franklin County.

According to a task force spokesperson, the home was in structural decay, and the floors were covered in large amounts of animal waste, posing a risk to the people and animals living there.

The owner of the dogs agreed to surrender the animals to the Animal Cruelty Task Force onsite. The 63 dogs will be brought to the Humane Society of Missouri’s St. Louis headquarters for emergency veterinary triage and treatment.

Rescuers said the dogs are frightened, filthy, and many show signs of being infested with parasites.

“To see so many dogs living in these horrible conditions is just devastating,” HSMO President Kathy Warnick said.

The hope is to make the dogs available for adoption once they’ve recovered. However, there’s no timeline on when that might happen.

The HSMO is accepting donations to help care for abused and neglected animals.

Concerned citizens can report animals that may be in danger or suffering from abuse and neglect to the HSMO’s Animal Cruelty Hotline at 314-647-4400.