ROOSEVELT — When a Tabiona man died over the weekend, he left behind nearly 80 dogs — most of them poodles — that had been living in what animal workers described as "horrific conditions."

Volunteers said there were as much as 12 inches of feces in areas of the remote one-room cabin.

"You could smell (the stench) from the truck, they told me," said Roosevelt City Animal Shelter director Kim Farley.

Lloyd Weaver, 65, was something of a recluse. Little was known about the conditions of his home until after his death on Friday when the man's son contacted the sheriff's office to remove the dogs, investigators said.

"(Weaver) apparently lived a solitary lifestyle, having little contact with neighbors or family," the Duchesne County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. "Indications are that he became ill and was unable to care for his dogs for a number of days."

Investigators and animal control officials in Duchesne County believe the dogs had gone without food or water for at least five days when they were found.

"Several of the dogs were near death, with all showing severe health problems," the sheriff's office said.

The Utah Animal Adoption Center was called in to help with the rescue of the dogs. Of the 77 that were found, adoption center spokeswoman JoAnn Ortega said the agency was able to take in about 30. Farley said she still has 37 of the dogs in Roosevelt.

Farley said 12 of the dogs brought to the shelter Friday had to be euthanized immediately while another 28 have been adopted or taken in by animal rescue organizations.

"The shelters are overwhelmed," Ortega said. "We need to find them homes."

And investigators believe there are still more dogs at the Tabiona house.

Farley said she was told that animal control officers have set traps inside Weaver's cabin to capture other dogs that escaped into holes in the walls. They have also set up corrals on his property to round up an unknown number of goats.

With a staff of only her and a part-time employee, Farley said the incident has created a tremendous strain on the shelter in a very short time.

"I've never seen anything like it, and I hope I never ever do again," she said, adding that the rescued dogs, some of which are pregnant, are "not cute and pretty right now."

"They'll need some TLC," she said.

Marinda Heninger, Utah Animal Adoption Center animal caregiver, is determined to provide the needed care. She was one of three volunteers who spent three hours Monday cutting off the poodles' fur, which had matted into thick dreadlocks. Other procedures will be necessary before they can be placed in homes.