Tennessee police responding to a welfare check found three little boys living in unspeakable conditions that their grandfather tried to blame on “poor housekeeping.”

According to ABC 13, the home in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, is covered in filth, with feces on the walls and trash covering almost every inch of the house — and spilling into the yard. When police responded to a child welfare call, they found one of the little boys locked inside a room with a door that latched from the outside.

It is not yet known how long he was locked in the room, or how often that happens.

Officers also found almost two dozen animals living in the home with the children, but 11 were dead and stuffed in a freezer.

“Our hope is that they weren’t neglected so bad where they died and they put them in the freezer,” Humane Educational Society director Bob Citrullo told ABC 13.

The boys’ parents, Dustin and Staci Tallent, were reportedly seen handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser but it is not known if they will be facing any charges.

Dustin’s father Wallace spoke to police, insisting that the parents are not guilty of treating their children or animals poorly — just their house.

Feature photo: ABC 13 screenshot