About a dozen dogs and cats are in need of new homes as police continue to investigate a case of animal neglect at a nonprofit animal rescue in Fridley.

Police executed a search warrant at Happy Tails three weeks ago, after receiving a tip about maltreatment at the facility.

RELATED: Fridley police investigating animal maltreatment claims at Happy Tails Rescue

A search warrant obtained by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS shows investigators found two dead dogs and 13 dead cats inside.

Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley has been helping 42 other animals pulled from that facility that suffered “poor medical care” and “inadequate living conditions.”

“It just doesn’t have to come to this,” said Liv Hagen, shelter behavior and humane investigations manager at Animal Humane Society. “If someone is finding themselves without the resources they need, if they’re in over their heads or they’re overwhelmed with the number of animals in their care, please reach out for help.”

Hagen was on site as police seized the animals from Happy Tails on May 23rd.

“19 of those animals actually needed urgent medical care. They had conditions ranging from severe upper respiratory infections to skin conditions that were infected and very, very itchy. We did have a dog that had severe muscle wasting in their hind end, so we had animals that were experiencing a lot of pain and suffering,” Hagen said.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS tried to reach Happy Tails for comment but never heard back from anyone with the organization.

“Yeah, it makes me really sick to my stomach,” said Andrea Ebeling of Forest Lake, who adopted a cat from Happy Tails about a year ago.

Ebeling said she spotted red flags at the facility, including dirty kennels, and began experiencing problems with her kitten within a few days of picking her up.

“I had to bring her to the emergency vet because she had a really bad infection where she had been spayed. She also had a respiratory infection and ear infections, ear mites, just all sorts of problems that really should have been addressed prior for her to even be considered for adoption,” Ebeling said.

Ebeling said she contacted a national nonprofit organization to report the issues she had witnessed.

When asked if she was surprised by the current animal maltreatment investigation at Happy Tails, she responded, “No, not surprised at all and very happy that a spotlight’s going to be put on this. The animals get no say in it so we have to be advocates for them.”

Of the animals seized from the facility, four dogs and seven cats are now available for adoption at Animal Humane Society’s shelter in Golden Valley.

Hagen said three cats had to be humanely euthanized due to the severity of their medical conditions.

Two dogs will soon be euthanized as well.

Another two dozen animals are still on the road to recovery.

“If medical intervention had started sooner, these conditions maybe wouldn’t have progressed to the state they’re at now,” Hagen said. “We don’t know what these animals have been through before they came to us, we just know that once we got them, we were very happy to be able to provide the care they need.”

Animal Humane Society covers all costs of removing animals and caring for them in their shelter during humane investigation cases.

If you would like to help this cause, the AHS Board of Directors will match your gift, dollar-for-dollar, up to $25,000.

A spokesperson with Fridley Police told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the investigation into Happy Tails is ongoing.