Hempstead: Most rescued pets adopted

Three weeks after Town of Hempstead animal control officers rescued more than two dozen cats and dogs from two homes in Rockville Centre, nearly all of them have been nursed back to health and adopted, town officials said.

The first seizure, from a home on Clinton Avenue, took place on Jan. 12. Officials seized 22 animals, including 17 severely neglected dogs, from that home.

On Jan. 14 rescuers seized 14 dogs and two cats from a home on Montauk Avenue. All but one of those animals have been adopted, Hempstead Town spokesman Mike Deery said.

The list of pets adopted from the second seizure includes six Chihuahuas, three dachshunds, a Yorkshire terrier, an English bulldog, a Shih Tzu, a boxer and two cats, Deery said.

Investigators found the carcasses of 26 animals inside the Montauk Avenue home, according to a statement from Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray. The surviving animals were "dehydrated" and "emaciated" and had been "profoundly neglected and abused."

The lone survivor not adopted from that raid is a collie mix that arrived in bad condition and required an extended stay at a veterinary hospital, Deery said. The dog has just returned to the shelter and is available for adoption.