Police have charged a Naugatuck woman with animal cruelty and removed four dogs from her home.
Police said they started the investigation after Naugatuck Animal Control received a complaint in late February about the death of one puppy and concerns about the health of others.
The person who filed the complaint had adopted puppies from a woman who had a pregnant pit bull, police said. The first puppy died, then the person adopted two more puppies, a male and a female, from the same litter.
The female puppy was covered in ulcers and appeared to be malnourished, the adopter told Naugatuck Animal Control.
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Naugatuck police said they got involved when the investigation led animal control to determine that additional dogs were in poor health and deplorable conditions.
When police searched the home that the puppies had been adopted from, they found the mother dog and a puppy emaciated and covered in their own filth and open ulcers, police said. They also found a dead ball python in a terrarium and removed it from the home.
The mother dog and her three puppies are in the care of Naugatuck Animal Control and police said they hope the dogs will continue to recover and will be able to find their forever homes.
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Police said five counts of cruelty to animals were filed.