DENVER -- Another case of animal hoarding has sent dozens of animals to Colorado.

The Humane Society of the United States helped the Wibaux Sheriff's Department remove 95 dogs from an overrun property in eastern Montana on Sept. 1. The canines, mostly shepherd mixes, were living inside a feces-laden home with one man, who did not have a telephone or a vehicle, authorities said.

One Humane Society rescue worker said on a scale of one to 10, the squalid conditions the dogs were found in was about a 12 -- the worst he's seen in his life.

"The conditions were horrifying. I mean it was absolute filth, squalor. You can't even imagine what we saw in there," said animal rescuer Rowdy Shaw. "It was not livable by any creature."

The dogs, shut off from the world, turned into semi-feral pack animals after years of neglect and isolation by a lonely hoarder.

"A lot of them just couldn't breathe, didn't know what fresh air was," Shaw said.

Of those dogs, 38 arrived in Colorado on Sunday -- many taking their first gasps of fresh air on the way here and meeting their first humans outside of the man who was hoarding them.

"These dogs, for the first time, are realizing what a human is and what outside is and what fresh air is," Shaw said.

And while some embraced it, the journey was one of terror.

"When we see fear in their eyes and cowering in the back of a kennel or being afraid of humans, that makes us sad," said Kim Sporrer, with Boulder County Humane Society.

The rescuers are resolved to give the dogs a second chance at life.

"Some of them will definitely have a long journey but we're here to help them and to make sure at their journey's end they will be able to find a home," said another rescue worker.

The dogs will be split between the Denver Dumb Friends League, the Humane Society of Boulder Valley, the Longmont Humane Society and Larimer Humane Society.

The dogs will be evaluated and socialized -- a process that could take weeks, even months.

The Dumb Friends League and Humane Societies say some of the dogs will be ready for adoption in just a few weeks. You can check their websites for updates.

This is the second case of animal hoarding in just the last week. Last weekend, 157 cats were seized from a home in Powell, Wyo. Many of the cats were emaciated and sick.

Some had to be put down. Eighty-one of the cats were brought to Colorado to be adopted.

Additional Resources:

• Contact Denver Dumb Friends League or call (303) 751-5772.
• Contact Humane Society of Boulder Valley or call (303) 442-4030.