23 rescued golden retriever puppies to be up for adoption in Mass.

An animal shelter in Sturbridge rescued 26 golden retrievers, including 23 2-week-old puppies, from a New York breeder accused of animal cruelty.

A total of 56 dogs were rescued from the breeder, and Second Chances Animal Services received 26 of the dogs, according to the shelter’s Chief Development Officer Lindsay Doray.

The dogs, rescued six weeks ago, “were being kept in deplorable conditions by a so-called backyard breeder,” Second Chances Animal Services wrote in an Instagram post.

On the fundraising page for the dogs’ expenses , Second Chances wrote, “The [three] mothers had been confined in very poor conditions, subjected to repeated breeding, and had likely never even been out-of-doors prior to their rescue.” The adult dogs were covered in caked-on feces and some had to be s