PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP/Gray News) – Nearly 150 dogs have been rescued from a West Virginia home.

The Parkersburg Humane Society said 146 canines were recovered from one location late Wednesday.

Samantha Tannous, the shelter’s manager, said she received a tip from a neighbor of the home who told her there were at least 10 chihuahuas in the home.

“Our human officers went there and just from the appearance and the feces present, we knew there were probably more than 10,” Tannous said. “We weren’t expecting 146.”

The humane society said the number of dogs found in the home was overwhelming.

“Things just got out of hand,” chief executive Gary McIntyre said. “Unfortunately, the dogs were not spayed or neutered and because of that they continued to have puppies and then each new litter started having additional puppies.”

Volunteer Dreama Alderman said she had never seen such a situation in her time working with the organization.

“I’ve been a volunteer for years, so many years, and they’ve had cases like this, but none like this,” Alderman said. “This is the biggest.”

McIntyre said he is grateful for the support from the community with donations and help at the shelter.

“I have to say the community has been extremely supportive of everything we’ve done,” McIntire said. “Yesterday, I pretty quickly sent out a post that we needed metal crates. I knew that as the number of dogs increased, it seemed like every 30 minutes the number was increasing more and more, because at first I thought we were talking about 30 dogs.”

The Parkersburg Police Department was notified of the situation.

Staff at the humane society are now in the process of caring for the newly arrived dogs at the shelter.

“They’re all here at the shelter right now, while some are in foster homes,” Tannous said. “Right now, we’re in the process of cleaning them, vaccinating them and clipping their nails. That’s what we’re working with.”

Certain items are still needed to help with the influx of dogs, staff said. For more information on the Humane Society of Parkersburg and to support their efforts, visit them website.

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