More than 500 dogs have been seized from a rural Quebec kennel that was long suspected to be a puppy mill.

The Humane Society and province of Quebec seized the dogs Friday from Paws R Us kennel in Clarendon, Que., about 90 minutes northwest of Ottawa.

"This is the largest commercial breeding facility involving some of the worst conditions the Humane Society's. . . animal rescue team has ever come across in Canada," said Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of the Humane Society International/Canada. 

Paws R Us, operated by the Lambombard family for the last 16 years, has undergone several inspections.

"I'm open to the public, I've had over 6,000 people through, I've had repeat customers. . . I'm just blown away," said Nicole Lambombard. "I just love the dogs so much, I can't see that's hard to understand."

Animal welfare groups said the dogs were being kept in inhumane conditions, many suffering from respiratory or skin problems.

"These dogs were denied the most basic of their needs and they did not receive adequate socialization," Aldsworth said.

It took several hours to remove all the dogs, who authorities say are now being kept in an emergency shelter near Montreal.

The Humane Society said they're happy to get the dogs out of those conditions, but now their focus turns to finding a home for them.

They said they're encouraging anyone interested in adopting one of the dogs to contact them at http://www.hsi.org/world/canada/.

Charges could be laid against the kennel owners.

With a report from CTV Ottawa's Claudia Cautillo