Police in Irwin say six children and more than a dozen pets were found living in filth and danger. 

Investigators say Marah Urch is facing child endangerment and animal cruelty charges after she let her kids fend for themselves in a home filled with trash, no running water and dead animals.

"Things do happen for a reason, and this was the reason we had and we were able to get what we needed to get in there and, you know, take care of these kids and get them out of this situation," said Irwin Police Chief Daniel Wensel. 

That reason, according to Wensel, started with a call about children seen running in the street near Spruce and Short. Six kids — dirty, unsupervised, and one of them bleeding from the mouth — were chasing after a dog. Police say Urch was nowhere to be found.

"The juvenile, being 11 years old, then stated to the officer that she was watching her siblings, five of them, which were all under the age of 6," Wensel said. 

When the Urch finally came back a short time later, Wensel says she wouldn't let officers into her home, which he says was an indicator that something more was going on. Police got a search warrant, and Wensel said what was inside left even seasoned investigators horrified. 

Wensel says his officers were greeted by seven cats, six dogs and two ferrets. He says there was trash piled high, rotting food, dirty clothes, human and animal feces throughout the home, and the stench of urine in every room. And the most shocking: two dead cats lying in the hallway.

"Being a father, you know, it's tough to see and tough to deal with and know that these kids, you know, from being a baby, you know, don't have a fighting chance, to have a parent like this. It's inexcusable and unacceptable," Wensel says. 

He says the younger children are now with their dad, and the older ones are in protective custody. Urch is behind bars in the Westmoreland County Prison.

"We plan to prosecute to the fullest extent on this," Wensel said.