Man arrested for allegedly hoarding nearly 50 dogs in Queens apartment, police say
May 15, 2025, 9:01 a.m.
A prominent animal rescue group calls it one of the worst hoarding cases it’s seen.
A Queens man is facing animal cruelty charges after police said they found more than 40 dogs crammed in unlivable conditions in his apartment last week.
According to the NYPD, 37-year-old Isaak Yadgarov was taken into custody Tuesday morning for allegedly hoarding 48 Belgian Malinois and German Shepherd dogs in an apartment on 62nd Road and Yellowstone Boulevard in Forest Hills.
The animals were cramped so tightly in the home that some were found living in closets and cupboards, according to the nonprofit Animal Care Centers of NYC, which called it “one of the most heartbreaking hoarding cases” it had ever encountered. The space was infested with urine and feces, with no outdoor access or fresh air for the dogs, according to the group.
Police discovered the dogs because Yadgarov was going through an eviction process and attempting to coordinate the surrender of the dogs to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, NYPD officials said. When officers gained entry last Thursday, they found four dozen dogs that needed immediate medical care and attention. Three had to be euthanized immediately, police said.
Officials said Yadgarov was charged with 48 counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and neglect of impounded animals. Attorney information for him was not immediately available Thursday morning as his arraignment was pending in Queens Criminal Court. The Queens district attorney's office said he was issued a desk appearance ticket and was due before a judge on June 2.
Yadgarov was arrested at a different address, and it was unclear if he was still living at the apartment where the dogs were found, according to the NYPD.
They were a mix of puppies and adults that were “undersocialized and fearful,” ACC said in a statement. Even walking was hard for some of them at first, as they had had very little space to move around, according to the organization.
“They’ve likely never touched grass, walked on a leash, or met a stranger,” Dr. Biana Tamimi, ACC’s director of shelter medicine, said in a statement. “Every new sound, every human interaction, is overwhelming. But we’re already seeing glimmers of curiosity, and that gives us hope.”
Mikhail Davydov told Gothamist his mother lives in the building where the dogs were found and he occasionally saw Yadgarov out walking one of them when he visited. Davydov said that from his mother’s first-floor apartment he could always hear the dogs barking “like crazy,” even though Yadgarov’s unit was on the seventh floor.
“ To be honest with you, I thought there maybe like four, five [dogs],” Davydov said. “When I heard the 48, my jaw dropped.”
He said neighbors had been complaining about the noise and stench coming from Yadgarov’s apartment for years, adding that it appeared as though Yadgarov was living in a trailer parked on a nearby street.
The ACC said the rescued dogs have all found placement through various partner organizations, but the group’s own shelters remain over capacity. The organization said it was waiving adoption fees for all large dogs until the end of May.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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