“Like something dead”: Foul smell leads authorities to dozens of dogs in neglected apartment

An overwhelming smell that one person described as “rotting flesh” emanating from a Jersey City building Thursday night led authorities to a shocking discovery: dozens of dogs in a filthy apartment covered in animal feces and urine.

The dogs, which live in an apartment in a building on Martin Luther King Drive between Wade Street and Warner Avenue, have been a problem for about a year, a neighbor who wished to remain anonymous told the Jersey Journal on Friday.

The problem got out of control in recent weeks as the foul smell, which another neighbor described as “like something dead,” became increasingly stronger. When the dog owner opened his window on Thursday, even passersby on the street were surprised.

Neighbors told the Journal that about two dozen dogs were found in the apartment, some in cages stacked on top of each other, living amid their own excrement. Jersey City authorities did not respond to requests for more information.

A video shows firefighters investigating and the dog owner talking to them.

Although the dogs appeared to be in poor physical condition, none died, a source in the city said.

The tenant cleaned out most of the feces, urine and waste from the apartment with assistance from the city’s Animal Welfare and Control Department, the source said. The dogs were still in the apartment Friday afternoon while animal control officers worked on a plan to safely remove them.

Pam Johnson, an activist and candidate for City Council in 2025, said she visited the site after numerous calls and was almost overwhelmed by the smell.

Johnson, the executive director of the Hudson County and Jersey City Anti-Violence Coalitions, said she was told the building owner was aware of the complaints but did nothing.

It could not be determined whether the owner of the dogs or the owner of the building was charged. Neighbors had previously complained about the noise of the dogs running around the apartment, barking and bumping into things.

A neighbor said the smell wasn’t the only problem. The apartment with the dogs attracted a large population of flies.