The dogs were rescued from a garage that had no windows or ventilation, and they had never seen the light of day.
JACKSON -- At least 17 dogs were rescued from a garage on Saturday in Jackson where they never saw daylight and were kept in "horrific conditions," officials said.
The dogs were rescued with the cooperation of the owners and are as young as 5 months old, according to the Associated Human Societies, which is keeping four of the dogs at its Popcorn Park facility in Lacey Township.
The garage had no ventilation and windows, officials said, and the dogs were found covered in urine and feces.
"They were born in that garage and never set foot outside of it until the day they were removed," a statement from the AHS reads.
Like the recent case in Howell, where nearly 300 dogs were discovered at a home living in deplorable conditions, officials say the Jackson incident is a hoarding situation in which the homeowners lost control.
"The owners of the dogs started out with just a couple of dogs but quickly became overwhelmed," the AHS statement said.
Workers from the Home Free Rescue animal shelter in Red Bank removed the dogs from the garage. The incident is currently under investigation by the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
A spokesman for the agency, Matt Stanton, said no charges have been filed yet.
Stanton did not know who initially contacted officials about the dogs.
"This happens when the weather gets hot, we start to see a spike in these types of cases because you can start to smell the urine and feces," Stanton said.
John Bergmann, general manager at Popcorn Park, said the four dogs -- Pinto, Sprout, Huckleberry and Clementine -- adopted by Popcorn Park were bathed and groomed over the weekend but are not ready for adoption yet.
"It's going to be a little bit, these are dogs that haven't socialized at all, they're pretty scared," Bergmann said.
The AHS is accepting donations online through its Res-Q Fund, or via text message. To donate through text message, text HumaneHelp to 41444.
Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.