"Dogs were screaming," said a neighbor who didn't want her name used. She spotted smoke billowing from the windows about 4:20 p.m. and called 911. "There was nothing I could do."

Several fire agencies rushed to the home on 107 Pine Wood Road, which is owned by Gloria Smith. Smith has had frequent run-ins with neighbors and the Town of Cochecton over the estimated 200 dogs and cats that she had been keeping inside and outside her two-story home. She is suing the town and some of neighbors who have complained about the animals, officials say.

As the house still smoldered, firefighters discovered that there were more than 80 cats in the basement. The cats and a few pigeons were locked in small cages and makeshift enclosures made of chicken wire. All those cats were saved and will survive.

Kauneonga Lake firefighter Frank Dicostanza was the first to kick in the door to the home.

"I expected to find them all dead," he said. "With all the heat and smoke, I didn't think anything could survive, but I kicked in the door, and I saw all these little eyes looking at me."

The fire gutted the main floor. Firefighters broke through the roof and spent the next hour hauling out the cats, stacking cages on the muddy flat ground behind the home. Up to 60 dogs confined in outdoor runs barked at firefighters. read complete article

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