UPDATE: On Thursday February 24, the Muscatine Police Department charged Douglas Elshoff, 65, and Karen Elshoff, 61, with 42 counts of animal neglect, in accordance with Iowa Code Section 717B.3. Both were released on a promise to appear in court. All dogs continue to be housed and treated at the Muscatine Humane Society.

Dozens of dogs rescued from an unsafe mobile home are now at the Muscatine Humane Society animal shelter.

Investigators with the Muscatine Police Department and Muscatine Animal Control say they found 42 dogs living in unsanitary conditions in a mobile home in Fruitland, Iowa, on Thursday, Feb. 10.

Many of the dogs have severe health problems — including dental issues, hair loss from fleas and potential worms.

Chris McGinnis, director of the Muscatine Humane Society, says health problems are only a few of the issues these pups have dealt with.

“They’re definitely not house-trained and have not been outdoors on grass,” said McGinnis. “They don’t know how to climb stairs. They don’t know what children are. They don’t know how to ride in a car.”

McGinnis went to the mobile home in Fruitland the day the police and animal control made the discovery.

She recalls the moments a man living in the home handed her each dog through a window, one by one.

“He handed them to me out the window of the trailer,” said McGinnis. “He said, ‘Well, we started out with Yorkshire Terriers and Cocker Spaniels, and they interbred.'”

This is now the second case in under a month where dozens of dogs have been rescued from a mobile home hoarding situation in Muscatine County.

On Wednesday, Jan. 19, It Takes A Village Animal Rescue & Resources in Muscatine took in 28 dogs and one cat that were saved from a trailer.

Meagan Koehler, the shelter’s president, says animal neglect is a major issue in the county.

“I think it says a lot about the animal welfare climate in this area — in Muscatine specifically — and that we have a lot of work to do,” said Koehler.

For now, McGinnis and everyone at the Muscatine Humane Society are waiting for court proceedings to happen so they can win custody of the 42 dogs and give them extra care — including spaying, neutering and vaccinating them.

After that, McGinnis hopes to send all of them out for adoption.

However, due to the situation the dogs have been through, McGinnis says each of them will need a certain kind of owner.

“They’re going to need a really patient owner because these dogs have not been socialized,” said McGinnis. “They don’t know anyone other than their two caretakers that they had.”

McGinnis says some of the dogs as young as 10 weeks old should be adoptable within a month if everything goes to plan.

She says it could take three to four months or longer for the older dogs, though, as they could take longer to get acclimated to things such as the outdoors.

McGinnis adds that, if anybody has any used exercise pens — preferably four feet high — the humane society wants to use them so that when the weather gets better, they can slowly acclimate the dogs to the outdoors.

As for the couple in the mobile home, criminal charges such as animal neglect are pending against them, and their names have not yet been released.

The investigation remains ongoing.

McGinnis and Koehler both add that, if you know someone who is hoarding or mistreating animals, let local authorities or humane societies know so that they can handle the situation and possibly save the animals.