"This is outrageous when you find all these dead animals for whatever reason...just thrown in the backyard like that," Pennsylvania SPCA spokesperson George Bengal said.
Investigators found six dead pit bulls in the garbage filled backyard at a home along the 1800 block of Cornwall Street near Kensington Avenue.
Neighbors say they had been complaining about the foul stench for about two months.
They say the dogs were left in the yard with no food or water.
Neighbor Lupe Patheco says she tried to help by throwing scraps of food into the yard.
She says she tried to buy one of the dogs that she grew fond of, but the owners refused to sell him.
She later found him dead.
"The night before, we found him he was crying so bad, the dog sounded like he was crying from his soul begging somebody to please help him," Patheco said.
When animal enforcement officers arrived this morning, one of the occupants of the house fled from a second story rear window.
The officers found the dead dogs in the backyard and one emaciated dog inside the house.
The couple living in the home has two small children.
Investigators say the house wasn't fit for man or beast.
"The whole house inside smells like death, everywhere in the house, there's feces throughout the whole house. It's a mess," Bengal said.
The stench of death permeated the neighborhood for months.
Neighbors, like Lupe, are outraged.
"That's animal cruelty. They died of starvation. They were starving. If you can't take care of them, give them away, give them to somebody that could," Patheco said.
Investigators are still looking for the owners of the dogs, who now face serious charges.
They've also alerted DHS as they are concerned about the children living in those conditions.
