UTICA, N.Y. -- An animal rescue in the City of Utica is facing eviction.

The property owner of the Road to Home Rescue's location on Broad Street plans to evict the rescue following the release of a video. The rescue's operator continues to defend their actions.

According to the property owner's attorney, they learned about the conditions and use of their property from watching the news. However, the rescue's operator says the owners already knew it was going to be a rescue, and this is just to protect themselves from their own code violations.

A video that has sparked public concerns was leaked online during an active investigation, which has rescue operator Kim Strong asking a lot of questions. The video is from last month, and Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara said the rescue's efforts have since improved.

The dogs were just checked by a vet and were not considered malnourished. But the video still went viral, eventually getting to the landlord in Massachusetts.

Strong said they've been paying rent on the space they use, but not the space where the landlord still has "stuff".

According to the owner's lawyer, they've wanted to evict the rescue for a while because rent isn't being paid but now there are other reasons.

"Now it's because of the issues that he's not only dealing with her but what might be forthcoming with codes. I imagine there are a lot of animal groups out there that aren't happy with what's going on there," said attorney Gregg Starczewski.

"He wants more money, and he's not getting it because he can't get the stuff out of his own building," Strong said. "He has codes violations throughout this entire building. When the fire department and police officers came they couldn't even get to the second and third stories."

Strong has questions about the release of the video. 

The Oneida County District Attorney said it likely came from the Utica Fire Department since they were conducting the investigation. If it was leaked by a government employee, it could be breaking the law.

But, McNamara said right now he doesn't have the resources for that investigation and is focusing on the dogs' safety. He added that he would like to see the Utica Fire Department open an internal investigation.

Strong said the rescue has been looking at places to move to, and several shelters have stepped up to help take in some dogs.