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No one but Judy Cahill knows all that went on inside 2 Foxden Court in Rockville before a pending eviction prompted her to have the nine dogs that remained there euthanized.

Cahill and the dogs seldom emerged from the rotting rancher, where she kept pit bulls, pit bull mixes and dogs of similarly hard-to-place breeds, which she collected at her 3-acre property in Potomac Highlands.

On Sunday, animal control officers removed the bodies of "three very much decomposed dog remains" from the basement, said Montgomery County Police Capt. Michael Wahl, who heads the Animal Services Division.

The bodies, wrapped in plastic, had been stashed in trash containers in the basement.

Wahl said officers were still investigating, but expect to charge Cahill, who moved out last month, with keeping animals in unsanitary conditions.

"Our ultimate goal in this is to have the court issue an order that would prohibit this person from running a rescue or having an animal," Wahl said.

Cahill's kennel, Rescue Inc., has been listed for years in phone books under humane societies.

But those who have entered the house, where Cahill kept out even friends, say that the conditions were inhumane.

Wire crates lined the dark, dank, stinking basement, alongside a sink seemingly designed for bathing small animals. But it was not clear that the sink had been used.

Cahill's veterinarian told police that the woman always provided medical care for the animals, but that they smelled bad, Wahl said.

"Probably a result of the conditions," he added.

Trash, bagged and strewn, covered floors upstairs, too, where furniture was shoved aside for more animal crates.

Scores of containers filled with cremated remains, labeled and dated as far back as 1988, filled plastic foot lockers.

Cahill — who, according to neighbors and the affidavit of a former employee, kept shades drawn and hired security guards to prevent people from coming onto her property — has not responded to requests for an interview. Attempts were made to contact her at a residence where she was said to be living. And messages left on her Rescue Inc. phone line were not returned.

But neighbors say the county has taken a hands-off approach to dealing with her since 1994, when their complaints led police to enter her home and find more than 50 dogs. A civil rights lawsuit filed by Cahill against the county, in which she argued that police lacked probable cause, netted her a $37,000 payment.

The affidavit — attesting that dogs had sores and did not get exercise, that no dog was seen leaving alive, that rats were "everywhere" and that the house had no running water — was sent to the county attorney's office in December 2003.

"We thought that [affidavit] was the smoking gun, but they ignored that, too," said Suzanne Furman, a lawyer who worked for the county attorney's office years ago and whose property abuts Cahill's backyard.

Complaints were filed in 2003 and 2005, but there were gaps in records until about five years ago, county officials said.

A police report filed in 2003 indicated that over 19 complaints for that address had been received.

Cahill was issued citations in 2005 requiring her to remove or register vehicles parked on the property and fix or remove a falling fence. The cars were removed, the fence repaired, and the case was closed in February 2006.

Susan Ringland of Chevy Chase, who got to know Cahill decades ago through her own involvement in animal welfare, said Cahill "did a great deal for animals over the years and spent a fortune doing it."

"The rescue community all knows each other; that's how we knew each other — we didn't go in each other's houses," she said.

Ringland said Cahill paid people to give up fighting dogs and went into dangerous places to do it.

But according to records removed from Cahill's former house, some of the dogs were affectionate pets given up by people who said they didn't have enough time for them.

"The many local shelters and individuals who released dogs without conducting an inspection of this house are complicit in this tragedy," said Montgomery County resident Shelley Moore, who was asked by Fairfax County-based Blue Ridge Bull Terrier Rescue to contact Cahill.

"All legitimate rescues, such as Blue Ridge Bull Terrier Rescue, welcome inquiries and inspections of facilities and foster homes," Moore said.

Moore, who has been inside the house, said she saw the nine remaining dogs being euthanized in the yard.

The animal welfare community must ensure that rescue groups adhere to humane care standards, she said.

"There is no substitute for regular, thorough, on-site inspections of all rescues with which shelters choose to work," she added.

The chairman of the county's Animal Matters Hearing Board, Allan S. Cohen, said he witnessed conditions in the house firsthand at the request of the property's new owner, Jacob Azhdam, who bought the place in 2007 and had agreed to allow Cahill to live there for many months. He had to call authorities to force her to leave.

Cohen urged the county to act quickly to ensure that animals and neighbors did not face such a situation again.

"I also recommend that the county seek to convene an oversight group to review what if anything county agencies could have or should have done to prevent this and how the county can be proactive to ensure this does not happen in the future," Cohen said.