The woman died last August, and police say she passed away from Hepatitis C complications, and was then partially eaten by her dogs.
Authorities with the Van Buren County Sheriff’s office, and from animal control, said the woman was on their radar before because there were concerns of hoarding. As of now, the woman’s identity is being withheld and not made public.
Police said when they first arrived at the property, the dogs were aggressive and they were not able to approach the home.
Officers couldn’t get inside to check on the woman to see what needed to be done. In order to get inside the home, authorities shot nine of the dogs.
Police became concerned when they realized the woman had Hepatitis C because they didn’t know how it would affect the dogs.
For weeks, veterinarians tried to save the rest of the dogs, but 27 were euthanized and one of the dogs bit the vet.
An animal control officer said they had tried everything, but everything failed.
The state’s health department said it doesn’t believe animals could spread Hepatitis C.
