The Town of Hempstead seized 21 dogs last week that were allegedly confined to a small room in a home on Daffodil Avenue in Franklin Square. The dogs, which ranged in age from 1 to 4-years-old, including three puppies, were said to be in unclean condition, strewn with feces, and neglected.

Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray said on Thursday afternoon, Feb. 20, the Nassau County Police Department reached out to the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter after receiving a call that something in a Franklin Square home may have been amiss from a carpet cleaner who was working there.

"It appeared that there were many dogs not in great shape," said Murray.

The town then dispatched two trucks to the area where they took 21 dogs, most of which were terrier mix. The dogs were signed over to the town by the owners who police described as an elderly couple.

The dogs were brought to the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter in Wantagh, where they were examined and cleaned up. "Generally, they appeared to be disease free, luckily enough and they seemed to be in relatively good condition," said Murray, who described the dogs when the town took them to be in poor shape aesthetically. "We've been cleaning them up and they're absolutely gorgeous dogs under the matted fur and everything else. We're very pleased to say with the attention drawn to this story, we probably will have all 21 dogs adopted. There has been an overwhelming response from the public," the supervisor said. "It's having a very happy ending."

The couple was issued three building code violations by the Town of Hempstead, one was for having more than three dogs, one for plumbing in which permits had not been issued, and one was for having a bed in the basement.

Murray had said, however, that it didn't appear the couple was abusing the dogs on purpose. "We're sort of characterizing it as a case of benign neglect. I don't think there was really any nefarious motivation on the part of the elderly couple. I think they just got a little overwhelmed. Tweny-one dogs is an awfully hard thing to keep track of and control of. I think it was basically a situation that got out of hand for this couple, but I don't think they had any evil intent or bad intentions," Murray said.