Chris Boserio

Boy, 12, lived with 19 dogs, 15 cats, two rabbits, three quail, nine chickens and one duck

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Cats in the kitchen of the home in Newark, Delaware, which contained 19 dogs, 15 cats, two rabbits, three quail, nine chickens and one duck. Picture: New Castle County Police Department

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A CHILD was allegedly living with 19 dogs, 15 cats, two rabbits, three quail, nine chickens and one duck in a house.

The plight of the 12-year-old boy living in the menagerie led animal welfare officers to contact police to assist with a search warrant for the boy's home in Newark, Delaware, in the US.

The deplorable condition of a bedroom in the house in Newark, Delaware, where the child lived in a menagerie. Picture: New Castle Police Department

"When officers arrived and entered the home, they smelled a pungent odor of urine, which made it difficult to breath, emanating throughout the house and observed the residence to be in deplorable conditions," Colonel W. Scott McLaren, chief of New Castle County Police Department said in a statement.
Sandra Kelsch, 49, and her husband, Edward Kelsch, 48, were each charged with endangering the welfare of a child. They were released on $500 unsecured bail. Animal cruelty charges are pending against the couple by the Kent County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Sandra Kelsch, 49, and her husband, Edward Kelsch, 48, have been charged with endangering the welfare of a child, their 12-year-old son. Picture: New Castle County Police Department

SPCA animal control agents removed the pets - including 19 dogs, five cats, two rabbits, three quail, nine chickens and one duck, Whipple said. Another 10 cats that could not be caught were left behind and 28 more dogs were seized from the property.
The home was condemned as unfit to live in.
The couple’s 12-year-old son was taken to A.I. duPont Hospital for Children to be evaluated for any health problems. The boy was medically cleared and placed in the care of relatives,