LACONIA — Nine Jack Russell terriers, discovered last month confined to small crates and sitting in their own waste, are slowly recovering at Humane Society shelter in Laconia, officials said.

The dogs were discovered April 24 in the garage of a Plymouth resident who could not provide upkeep for the dogs or themselves, said Marylee Gorham, New Hampshire Humane Society spokesman.

“This case is, sadly, a hoarding case,” Gorham said.

She said the dogs range from 4 to 17 years in age and were found in their own excrement. The Humane Society believes they were kept in crates for all but a half-hour a day.

The owner signed over the dogs to the Humane Society, and New Hampshire Adult and Elderly Services is assigned to the case, Gorham said.

She said the person was incapacitated and couldn't understand the severity of the living conditions.

Individual dogs suffered from various ailments, including Lyme disease, deafness, blindness, urine scalding, arthritis and tumors.

They appeared unaccustomed to life outside a crate and exhibited anxious behavior when let loose outside.

Others quaked when a human tried to touch them.

Gorham said they had been living in the conditions for about four years.

She said the Humane Society is trying to raise funds for their care, and all the dogs will eventually be adopted, even if they only have a few months to live.

“We think it would be immoral to take them from a hording case and put them down,” she said.

She said they can be rehabilitated, but it will take time.

“They're not going to be a dog you'd normally adopt like a puppy, happy go lucky,” Gorham said.