News that the Warwick Animal Shelter is housing 16 dogs taken from an “office size room” that reeked of feces on Dec. 27 had not been reported by Tuesday, but already shelter director Ann Corvin was getting inquiries about adoption opportunities.

Corvin, who has worked at the shelter for 23 years, knows what to expect when the word gets out. There will be calls, unscheduled visits to the shelter and even lines stretching out the door. She’s not ready for that.

While the dogs, primarily a Havenese mix and weighing 15 to 18 pounds, have been bathed and in most cases groomed they have not all been spayed or neutered nor micro-chipped and tested for heart worm. They’re not ready to be adopted.  Corvin won’t be taking calls about the dogs and advised people interested in learning more about them or an adoption to email the shelter at animal.shelter@warwickri.gov.

Corvin estimated the dogs to be one year and older and generally having been well cared for with the exception of cleaning, grooming and having been kept in a confined room.

How the dogs ended up at the shelter dates back to Dec. 23 when police received a call from a Wendell Road resident who reported that he and a couple of other people had been involved in attempting to corral several dogs that had run out onto Post Road. The resident told police that the dogs were “matted, dirty and overall not great-looking.”

A woman, who police later identified as Mirna Nunez, 50, 651 Post Rd., told the Wendell Road resident she owned the dogs. She took them in her possession. The resident became concerned when he asked Nunez how many dogs she had and she said she didn’t know. He then called police.

According to the police report, officers accompanied by Animal Control Officer Amy Violett responded to the call. They spoke with Nunez outside the house and after Violett insisted on checking on the safety of the dogs she was reluctantly allowed inside the house.

“Once we entered with Nunez,” reads the report, “ACO Violett immediately detected an overwhelming odor of feces that filled the room and observed a significant amount of feces on the floor, which the dogs and Nunez stepped in, which could not be avoided.” They also found water bowls with dirty water and empty food bowls and empty crates with fecal matter.

Nunez told the officers she would clean up the room but she had a medical issue and would like some help. She was told by city ordinance she is not permitted to have more than three dogs. She was told that the Warwick Animal Shelter would assist her with the dogs.

On a follow up visit on Dec. 27, officers found that Nunez had cleaned the room to “adequate conditions” and that there were 12 dogs in the room. Nunez told officers that she is unemployed, has no source of income and no transportation as her vehicle registration had expired.  Nunez agreed to surrender the dogs although she wanted to keep three. She later agreed to turning over all of the dogs, Corvin said.

“She got in over her head,” Corvin said of Nunez. Corvin cautioned anyone interested in adopting the dogs that they require professional grooming every eight to 10 weeks and if they aren’t groomed their hair “turns into a matted mess.” She said those adopting the dogs would be required to pay for the fees relating to veterinary services.