PORTSMOUTH, Va. (AP) — Authorities say filthy living conditions prompted them to remove two children from a military housing unit in Portsmouth and charge the girls’ mother with child abuse.

Media outlets report 22-year-old Bridgett Rutkowski was released Monday from Portsmouth City Jail.

City spokeswoman Janice Clark says Rutkowski was charged Saturday and her daughters, ages 2 years and 5 months, were turned over to a relative.

Clark says animal control officers also took two dogs that were found chained in the backyard without water, food or shelter.

It wasn’t immediately known whether Rutkowski had an attorney. She didn’t have a listed telephone number.

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