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Dogs Rescued From Cape May County Home

MIDDLE TWP., N.J. (CBS) - Animal welfare experts are still sorting through and examining dozens of dogs seized from a Cape May County home over the weekend as police consider filing new charges in the case.

Dawn Scheld, 46, of Middle Township, N.J., was arrested Saturday as police from the New Jersey SPCA seized 57 dogs on her property. Police say they also found six dog carcasses. Right now, Scheld is charged in the death of one of those dogs, but officials expect to file additional charges this week.

Meanwhile, at the Humane Society of Atlantic County, a veterinarian is examining some of the dogs. About a third were taken to this small shelter on Absecon Boulevard where they will be cleaned and housed until a judge makes a decision about whether they can be put up for adoption. With the 18 dogs it took in over the weekend, the shelter is now fully at capacity.

"It was really bad," said Humane Society executive director Steven Dash who was at Scheld's home during the raid. "Approximately half of the dogs were inside a house in one room. The house was completely trashed."

Dash says the outdoor pens for the dogs were not much better. He says they were covered in snow and dog waste.

"There was no place for the dogs to go where it was clean and dry," he said.

Col. Frank Rizzo, superintendent of the New Jersey SPCA Police, says Scheld is charged with "causing and procuring the death of an animal," which by itself carries a penalty of one year in prison and a $3,000 fine. But he says Scheld could eventually face a much stiffer penalty once authorities add more counts.

Scheld's attorney, Nathan Perry, had no comment on the case Monday.

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Reported by Ben Simmoneau, CBS 3

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