More than 50 dogs and cats seized from San Bernardino County home

More than 50 dogs and cats were seized this week from a San Bernardino County home, authorities said Thursday.

Officials went to the single-family home in Phelan on Wednesday after receiving a complaint of possible animal neglect. They found 38 dogs and 17 cats at the home, according to San Bernardino County Animal Care and Control.

A woman at the home signed the animals over to officials, pending an animal neglect criminal investigation, authorities said.

The dogs and cats were taken to an animal control shelter in Devore. They will be put up for adoption after the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office determines they are no longer needed as evidence in a criminal case, according to animal control.

The seizure comes as shelters experience a greater need for animal adoptions around the Fourth of July because animals who are frightened by the sound of fireworks can run away and get lost, officials said.

“It’s almost a double impact to the operation of the shelter, because now we have to care for these 50 animals in addition to an expected influx of animals due to the July 4th holiday,” said Brian Cronin, chief of Animal Care and Control for San Bernardino County.

For breaking news in Los Angeles and throughout the Southland, follow @Caitlin__Owens, or email her at [email protected].