"They will be spayed and neutered, made up-to-date on vaccinations and given microchips before they can go," she said.

Heninger said the dogs are surprisingly friendly despite having lived predominantly without interacting with humans.

"You can kiss them and cuddle them," she said. "A lot of times dogs from homes like this have never really had human contact. You can spend months trying to get them used to people."

This behavior is typical of animals that have been raised by "hoarders" or people who have an atypical number of animals and fail to provide even basic levels of nutrition, shelter and care to those animals. Those who are willing to provide those things find themselves strapped for funding.

Ortega said the adoption center doesn't euthanize and can only take on as many animals as allowed by resources, which have lessened in recent months.

"We're a nonprofit organization, and because of the economic downturn, funding is low," Ortega said. "We're hoping to keep our doors open to save dogs and cats that been abandoned or abused like these."

E-mail: emorgan@desnews.com; geoff@ubstandard.com