Dozens of dogs, cats rescued from Merrillville hoarding situation coming up for adoption

After dozens of dogs and cats were rescued from a hoarding situation in a home in Merrillville, Indiana, in the aftermath of severe storm damage, some of them are now available for adoption.

Merrillville police said Humane Indiana alerted them to concerns about a possible animal hoarding situation last week. The animal shelter said the situation was discovered when a large tree crashed down onto a trailer during the storms.

Police said a large number of dogs and several cats were taken from the trailer and placed into Humane Indiana's custody. Charges have not yet been announced but police said the investigation remains active.

Humane Indiana said they took in 48 dogs from the hoarding situation just hours after their own doors reopened when they got power back after the storms.

Wednesday they said more than two dozen dogs from the hoarding home have been medically cleared for adoption. So far, they've gotten adoption applications for 29 pets, not all of whom are ready to go to a new home yet. They said they will be contact potential adopters very soon about their applications.

Nearly 20 dogs and cats are at the shelter waiting to find new homes, while more than 20 are recovering in foster homes and will become available for adoption in the coming weeks as they're medically cleared.

Anyone interested in adopting these pets should contact Humane Indiana or go to the shelter to meet them and apply.