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Boston's animal shelter under investigation

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- The director of Boston's animal control shelter has been suspended and could be fired after what the Animal Rescue League called very troubling conditions.

Though the problems at the Roslindale facility have since been corrected, on Friday, Mayor Walsh says he's fixing the bigger issues.

An emaciated dog with sores on its face was among dozens moved out of Boston's animal control shelter after the Animal Rescue League says it found the animals in "crisis" and what it calls "very troubling conditions."

Cats were found caged together on wet newspaper. Dogs were howling in their kennels and were wet from not being removed from their cages when they were cleaned.

"We have an opportunity to expand the shelter and here we have a situation where animals are abused, neglected. We should be expanding the program, not having to find what we found the other day," Walsh said.

After the Animal Rescue League notified Mayor Marty Walsh, he suspended the acting director of the shelter, Mark Giannangelo. FOX 25 tried reaching out to Giannangelo, but didn't hear back.

Walsh says he's bothered by all this, and believes it's been going on for some time.

"Sounds like it could've been going on for years," he said.

What's still unclear as of Friday is whether or not Giannangelo notified his supervisor. A Walsh spokeswoman says that his supervisor would be the city's property management chief, and she couldn't say for sure that the supervisor wasn't told about the conditions.

Either way, she says Giannangelo should have told the mayor directly.

The mayor has since put John Meaney in charge.

"If things are going on for a period of time, you really have to look at the management you have to look at those watching the store," he said.

Meaney added that the conditions the ARL found last month do not still exist.

"We have some animals who were taken, who needed more care, who were taken out of here," he said.

Now those animals are healthy, cleaned up and ready for adoption.

And the emaciated dog, now named Camilla, who came into the shelter at just 32 pounds, but left at an even lower 24 pounds, has since put on weight. She was out for a long walk Friday afternoon.

"She was in rough shape. She had sores on her body from being housed without blankets," said Carolyn Curran, who works at the Animal Rescue League. "She was obviously very skinny so we've added one more meal - she gets three meals a day.  And she seems to be gaining weight, and she's doing wonderfully."

Next week, the Animal Rescue League will present its assessment to the mayor's office. A spokeswoman says all the animals are available for adoption.