Tips from neighbors regarding a stench led Douglas County Animal Services officers to a Brown Street home. And once there, officers smelled it, too.

“We drove up to the property, and immediately, the smell of ammonia was overwhelming,” Bill Peacock, animal services director, told Channel 2 Action News. “We entered the residence, and what we found were cats and dogs roaming freely in the house.”

Investigators removed 27 exotic birds, 15 dogs, six cats and a ferret from the home, which was inhabited only by animals, Peacock said. The homeowners apparently lived at another residence, he said.

“The conditions were deplorable,” Peacock said. “There were feces and urine all throughout the house. The animals were not being allowed outside, so they were being kept inside 24 hours a day.”

The animals were being fed and appeared to be in good health, but were removed from the home because of the living conditions, Peacock said.

Charges are possible in the case, Peacock said.

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