Dog hoarding suspects face 154 charges

Nearly all animals now adopted

MIAMI – Police arrest two women accused of hoarding 81 dogs that were found and removed from filthy crates aboard a U-Haul truck in southwest Miami-Dade County.

Teresa Horta-Barrial, 66, and her daughter, Maria Crespo, 27, face a combined 154 animal cruelty charges.

"More than 100 charges each. That's a lot for these people," said Luis Salgado with Miami-Dade Animal Services. "Well, they had a lot of animals. We took over 80-something dogs and cats and different animals from the property."

When the animals were found on the truck, they were packed in cages, forced to live and lay in their own feces. Animal excrement also covered the floors inside the home.

"Animals in this condition that they were, and the way they were caring for, it's just overwhelming for anybody," Salgado said. "Every cage that we saw that was there had at least three inches of dried fecal matter."

While there are still a few looking for forever homes, nearly all of the dogs have been adopted or are in the care of rescue organizations.