SALEM – Detectives serving a search warrant for a child pornography investigation found a family living in filth with 24 poodles Thursday, police said.

Eight additional poodles, all of them dead puppies, were found in plastic bags in the freezer, said Lt. Jim Anglemier with the Salem Police Department.

The parents, Kevin and Sarah Deal, told detectives the puppies were stored there until one of the older children could bury them in the backyard.

Inside the house at 4345 Vernon Loop NE, dog feces were found caked on the floor, beds, furnishings and clothes, according to Anglemier.

“The feces odor was so strong, some of the detectives needed to wear breathing respirators,” Anglemier said.

Two dozen poodles were found running loose or in cages. Some of the dogs were near death. There was no water or food out for the dogs.

The kitchen lacked a clean area for food preparation.

Officials with the Willamette Humane Society and Marion County Dog Control seized the surviving poodles and the Marion County Health Department posted a sign on the front door which reads, "Unfit for Human Habitation."

Kevin and Sarah Deal lived in the home with their two children, ages 15 and 16, and two other juveniles, ages 9 and 17.

The couple was booked into Marion County Jail; they face charges of criminal mistreatment and animal neglect. All four children were taken into protective custody.

The child pornography investigation continues.