The owner of the animals taken from the Pottsville house fire last Saturday says they were cared for.

Linda Blythe-McNally, her boyfriend, Shawn Stevens, and two children, a 2- and 3-year-old, live in the home along with Shawn’s brother Izaiha Stevens, Maria Morales and her son, Jayce Green, 2.

Blythe-McNally said they were in Allentown when she got the call from Morales about the fire Saturday. She is refuting the conditions the animals were in. Pottsville Fire Chief James Misstishin Sr. described them as “deplorable.”

“We only have seven dogs,” she said, all pit bulls. She was in the process of rehoming four of them.

Three of the dogs were from her father, who recently died. Several of the dogs have licenses and rabies shots. They get the shots at Tractor Supply, but the veterinarian who does the shots has not been there recently. The dogs who do not have licenses she was trying to rehome.

“My heart really goes out to the pit bulls,” Blythe-McNally said.

The city limit is four dogs. Two bunnies, nine reptiles, three tegu lizards, a ball python, a snapping turtle, an African spurred tortoise, a leopard gecko, iguana, bearded dragon and a Harlequin macaw were there. Blythe-McNally said they were unaware exotic pets were not permitted in the city. She said they were allowed in Lehigh County where they previously lived. She tries to find homes for them. Several were given to them or they rescued.

Hillside SPCA has four of the dogs that Tricia Moyer-Mentzer, director of the Hillside SPCA, described as “very sweet dogs.” Ruth Steinert Memorial SPCA has two dogs. The Venom Institute, Schuylkill Haven, has the reptiles. A tortoise died after being rescued.

Blythe-McNally said there was no urine or fecal matter on the basement floor. There was poop in the dogs cages because they had gone out at 10 p.m. and had go again.

She said four of the dogs were running around loose while three were in crates. She said an investor came to the house and her landlord made her crate the dogs. She did not have enough crates for all the dogs, which are usually not crated. Two dogs, Blue and Bandit, father and son, are food aggressive.

“They definitely are not human aggressive,” she said.

She said Bandit was injured because he escaped recently. Hillside SPCA gave Bandit to her sister.

The tegus were roaming around a locked room because if you put them in an enclosure they become aggressive, she said.

Blythe-McNally said the animals are well-fed.

“We cook for our dogs pretty much every night.”

She claimed a firefighter took food out of the basement and fed the dogs.

Hillside responds

Moyer-Mentzer said she does not know how many of the pets were in the cages. Misstishin said most of them were. Basement conditions were unsanitary.

“Urine and feces pretty much from one side of the basement to the other. The smell completely overwhelmed us,” she said.

She didn’t see any food or water. The dogs have been taken to the veterinarian.

“They are underweight,” she said declining to say more.

One of the dogs had bite wounds on its neck and ears.

Bandit had bite wounds to the head, neck, legs, groin area and ears, Moyer-Mentzer said. Some of the wounds were recent and infected.

“He is on antibiotics and pain medication,” she said.

She described one of the tortoises as “morbidly obese,” a condition a veterinarian diagnosed.

“He could not even get his legs back into his shell,” she said.

He passed away.

“The turtle didn’t die because of something we did or didn’t do to the turtle,” Moyer-Mentzer said.

Moyer-Mentzer said the case is still being investigated.

She urged residents to contact shelters if they suspect an animal is being mistreated or in danger.

“Please report it before the situation escalates,” she said.