Authorities find more than 40 malnourished animals in home

KETCHIKAN — Authorities responding to a medical call in North Tongass found more than 40 malnourished pets and three dead animals in a small, dilapidated home.

The Ketchikan Daily News reported North Tongass Volunteer Fire Department personnel found a half foot of animal feces in the 700-foot home last weekend.

Most of the animals found alive but in poor condition were small dogs. The animals have been taken to a Ketchikan shelter. All have skin, ear and eye infections, but most should heal fine and be put up for adoption.

Ketchikan Gateway Borough Animal Protection Director Eddie Blackwood sank through a section of the rotting floor at the home and later was hospitalized for an infection in his leg.

The homeowner, who was hospitalized, wasn’t identified.

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