UTICA, N.Y. – We have a follow up on a horrific story of animal abuse out of Utica. The director of the Steven-Swan Humane Society says a fifth animal taken from an apartment in Utica has died.

Tuesday, an animal control officer discovered three dead dogs and five others left to starve to death at this apartment on Whitesboro Street. They were a mix of adult pit bulls and puppies.

A fourth animal died shortly after being taken into care and now a fifth, an adult female dog, has died as well.

Police say the animals were severely emaciated and had been abandoned in the apartment so hungry, they ate shoes to try to survive.

The dogs' owner, Umar Aziz, 22, faces numerous charges, including multiple counts of animal cruelty.