Hazmat Team Finds 180 Animals Inside NJ Puppy Mill, 2 Dogs Dead

A New Jersey residence has been condemned and its residents arrested after law enforcement uncovered an active "puppy mill" with 180 animals caged inside, police announced Saturday.

An anonymous complaint first alerted police to the home off Arrowhead Park Drive in Brick Township Friday evening. Two patrol officers responded to the home around 7:30 p.m. and met with the homeowners outside to discuss the complaint, police said.

From the driveway of the house, the officers said they could smell a "strong" odor and heard the sounds of dogs barking. With the permission of the couple, the department said the cops entered the home and found stacks of animal crates with dogs and cats inside.

The unsanitary conditions of the residence prompted the officers to step back outside and call in assistance from a hazmat team. Police said they initially estimated some 30 animals were being kept inside the home.

Emergency response teams arrived and began inspecting the conditions. Once inside, the teams found the house was "full of animal waste and the animals were living in horrible and inhumane conditions," according to police.

Two of the dogs boarded had died.

"We've been calling about this for months," neighbor Sharon Beaton told News 4.

Brick police said they came to the home in 2019 and 2020 after previous complaints, but saw no indication action was needed.

"Occasionally I'd smell something," one neighbor said. "But never suspected more than a hundred animals inside. Never suspected more than 10."

Further investigation of the home suggested the actual animal count exceeded 100, prompting a massive response from agencies throughout central New Jersey, police said.

There were a total of 135 dogs and 45 cats removed from the Brick Township home, police said. The recovery process took responders nearly 10 hours to complete, working the teams into the early morning hours Saturday.

At least one neighbor said the couple would try to place dogs.

"I would describe them as animal loves. They did all of the work they did for the good of the animals," neighbor Ivy Lirn said.

But Lirn thinks it got out of hand -- so much so that several neighbors said that the two women would live in their cars/

"We've come to understand they were living in their vehicles because the conditions in the house were so bad," neighbor Matt Hunt told News 4.

At least eight of the animals required emergency attention by veterinarians, while the rest were distributed to various animal shelters.

Police said Aimee Lonczak and Michele Nycz, the residents of the home, were arrested for animal cruelty and child endangerment. Lonczak's 16-year-old daughter also lived at the home, police said.

Additional charges may be filed against the couple.