Reported by Ted Hart

More than a dozen dogs have been pulled from what humane agents are calling filthy conditions inside a Pickerington home.

And 10 Investigates dug into the apparent dog breeding operation that authorities are terming as a possible puppy mill.

The Fairfield Area Humane Society was already full when 18 more dogs suddenly needed shelter Monday.

This was one of the worst skin infections. I assume its caused by fleas. Get him on some antibiotics and that should clear it up, Michelle Sahr from the Humane Society said of one of the dogs.

Most of the dogs are miniature Australian shepherds. They are dogs that need a lot of exercise. Humane officers say when they found the dogs, they were confined to small cages and, in some cases, travel-size crates. Many were filthy and covered with feces.

It didn't look like they had been cleaned in months, Sahr said. There was concrete feces on the bottom of (the cage.) And the dogs, of course, had it all over their fur.

The dogs were taken from the house in Pickerington where owner Ruth Brubaker was breeding them and selling puppies. Brubaker is now charged with animal cruelty...

Brubaker did not comment to 10TV, other than to say she has an attorney and will be fighting to get her dogs back. In the meantime, the Humane Society is looking for donations and volunteers to help care for the dogs.

It's a big financial burden for us to take in that many dogs. And they're considered evidence right now so we can't do anything with them, Humane Officer Bill Huffman said.

Humane society officials say the case started on a tip from a customer who had responded to Brubakers newspaper ads.

Brubaker was scheduled to appear in court next week to answer the charges of cruelty.