A total of 28 dogs have been seized from a house in Lifford in what have been described as “appalling conditions.”
The dogs were found in a horrific state.
The dogs, both pups and adults, were found after a man contacted Donegal Pet Rescue to hand over some puppies.
Ryan McCauley from Donegal Pet Rescue met the man who handed over a total of eleven dogs.
However he became suspicious when the man refused to allow Ryan to see the conditions in which the dogs had been kept.
Ryan then contacted the IPSCA offices who are carrying out a full investigation into the owner.
Upon inspection of the premises a further 17 dogs, both pups and adults, were removed from the premises.
The dogs are terrified of human contact.
Inspector Kevin McGinley of the ISPCA told Donegal Daily the man did the right thing in making contact over the dogs.
“The dogs were in a state of neglect but this man did the right thing.
“This was not a puppy farm situation and these dogs were not being bred for commercial gain. They simply became too much for him.
“We are pleased this man came forward because help is there for people in these situations,” he said.
Ryan McCauley of DPR said he has never seen dogs in such poor condition.
“I have to say we were shocked. I have seen dogs in poor condition but certainly not pups – they were in a very bad way,” he said.
Some of the dogs were covered in excrement and some of the older dogs had to be taken to dog grooming services because their coats had grown too long.
The dogs were also extremely frightened as they had not appeared to have had much human contact.
Ryan said that while he was happy that the man came forward with the dogs, he is still outraged at the situation.
“I would guess that these puppies may have been for the Christmas market and did not sell.
“But the conditions they were kept in and their condition was just horrendous,” he said.
A full investigation is expected to be carried out into the incident.