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Animal Collectors & Hoarders

Cat-Infested Home Declared a Nuisance


Oct 21, 8:57 PM (ET)

TEMPLE CITY, Calif. (AP) - A cat-lover whose home was declared a public nuisance because dozens of felines turned the house into a urine-soaked, feces-strewn mess called City Council members names like dictatorial terrorists, Nazis, communists and al-Qaida members.

William Oliver Cain, said he tried to get rid of the cats but the animals are hard to catch. The property was cited for having cat feces and urine inside the house, along with piles of debris, excessive feces in the back yard and a deteriorating roof.

City Manager Martin Cole told the council Tuesday he visited the Arden Drive property.

"While I didn't go inside, I could smell cat urine when I got out of my car," Cole said.

Former mayor and community activist Cathe Wilson helped remove 30 cats from the property and said several remain. Most of the animals were so sick they had to be destroyed, she said.

Code enforcement and public safety officials said it was a health and safety hazard. Debris was so extensive in the home that Cain couldn't escape if a fire started, they said.

"I'll go out of a window, that's what I always planned," Cain said.

Cain, who said the charges were vague, said the city entered his home illegally.

"I'm going to get a pro bono attorney, go to federal court and go after the city for damages," he said. "The more you do to me, the worse damages I can have. Your ducks are not in a row."

Gary Winberg, the son of an elderly couple who own the home, asked the council for more time to clean up the property. Cole said he still had 30 days to correct the problems and the city can help him.

Winberg said Cain hasn't paid rent in four months and eviction proceedings had begun.

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20041022/D85S5M2O0.html
 
October 21, 2004

Iditarod racer loses 28 dogs to authorities

The Associated Press


ANCHORAGE - A three-time Iditarod musher is charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty after authorities removed 28 dogs from his property.

David Straub was not feeding the animals, animal control officials said.

Ten of the dogs removed from the property last weekend were emaciated, officials said. But Straub, who acknowledges some of the animals were too thin, said animal control "acted like the Gestapo," swept in, and took his animals without giving him a chance to respond to their concerns.

Straub filed an appeal Tuesday.

"Mr. Straub has run the Iditarod. You can't run the Iditarod without knowing how to take care of animals," said Dave Allison, chief of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough animal care and regulation. "The bottom line for us is, with the condition of the dogs, it's cruelty to animals."

However, Allison said, "There's no doubt in my mind that Mr. Straub loves his animals."

The dogs are now under borough care while animal control looks for foster homes to allow the animals to recuperate, and the borough waits for the appeal to be decided.

If the dogs do not go back to Straub, they would be adopted out.

"Yeah, I fouled up," Straub told the Anchorage Daily News. "I loved a few too many dogs."

Animal control first visited Straub's property on Oct. 11 and found 34 dogs, more than half of which were in bad shape, Allison said. There's some dispute about the number. Straub said he had only 32.

Animal control worked out a deal with Straub for him to find the animals homes with other owners. After a second visit a few days later with a veterinarian, Straub said he understood that he no longer needed to get rid of his dogs.

On Oct. 16 officers seized all but four dogs and revoked his kennel license. One of Straub's dogs died several days before animal control was first called. The animal control officials said they wonder whether the dog died of starvation.

Straub said the 7-year-old dog caught a cold after days of bad weather. He brought the dog inside his house and tried to nurse it, he said, but it was too late.

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2004/10/21/d7.wst.musher.1021.html
 
Emperor [/i] [b:3ia3wxqg][quote][i]Originally posted by Emperor said:
Cat lady changes to horses in midstream

By Dave Wedge

Thursday, August 12, 2004

Self-proclaimed ``Cat Lady'' Heidi Erickson has turned her interests from felines to equines - but is being blocked from a horse-grooming gig for allegedly lying about her criminal record.

............

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=39487

She really needs therapy not court time:

Just what she needs: More kitties! Cat lady sues to clone

By J.M. Lawrence
Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Cat Lady Heidi Erickson wants to clone her doomed colony of 42 ringworm-ravaged Persians before the state euthanizes and incinerates them, according to court papers.

Erickson argues she has the right to collect the precious DNA she spent years breeding in her champion pack and is still battling to save their lives against the Department of Agriculture's August declaration that the cats pose a public health hazard.

...........

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=46525 [/quote]

And she just keeps going on and on:

Cat lady' arrested at Plymouth court: Warrant discovered as she is led outside for berating officials


By TAMARA RACE
The Patriot Ledger

PLYMOUTH - Boston's notorious ‘‘cat lady'' found out it's risky to raise a fuss in a courthouse, especially if you have an outstanding warrant.

Heidi Erickson, who made headlines last year when housing inspectors found dead cats in her freezer, was arrested outside Plymouth District Court yesterday on a Boston Municipal Court warrant for animal cruelty.

Erickson had been at the courthouse for more than an hour demanding prosecutors, clerks and magistrates investigate and file criminal charges against the Animal Rescue League.

About 42 of Erickson's cats, seized during her eviction from apartments in Boston and Watertown, landed at the Animal Rescue League's shelter in Pembroke.

League workers put to death many of the cats and put the entire shelter in quarantine because of a ringworm outbreak they blame on Erickson's animals, according to court files.

Erickson sued the League, accusing them of neglecting her cats and destroying them without reason, court documents indicate. She says her cats contracted ringworm at the shelter.

The case was thrown out and Erickson was banned from filing complaints in federal court as well as the Superior Courts in Suffolk, Middlesex and Plymouth counties.

Now she wants to pursue her dispute against the League in District Court, and that is what brought her to Plymouth.

Yesterday's exchanges were heated at times as court officials and police prosecutors tried to direct Erickson through the proper channels for filing such complaints.

Erickson demanded Pembroke police prosecutor David Klaus investigate and file criminal complaints against the Animal Rescue League.

When Klauss declined and referred her to a magistrate, she berated him and demanded the names of his superiors.

Court officers warned her several times to lower her voice and finally asked her to leave the building.

Plymouth police were called to the courthouse to help keep the peace while escorting Erickson from the building.

When they asked her for identification, they discovered the active warrant and arrested her. She was taken in shackles to Boston to answer the charges in court there.

Plymouth County Regional Administrative Justice Linda Giles ordered the Superior Court case against the Rescue League thrown out because Erickson did not seek approval from the court before filing the complaint.

Giles made the ruling citing Erickson's ‘‘frequent, vexatious litigations,'' including 19 legal actions in the three counties.

Erickson's request to the District Court to issue complaints are pending.

Assistant Magistrate Lucy Canavan, who presided over the first contentious hearing on the applications, has asked the regional admistrator for the District Courts if Erickson is also banned from filing actions in District Court.

-----------------
Copyright 2004 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Wednesday, October 20, 2004

http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2004/10/20/news/news07.txt
 
Hmmm....methinks I have heard it on good authority that certain far eastern nations tend to relish both felines and canines as part of their daily diet. Is it too much to expect a world-wide backlash from these two very inteligent creatures? After all they too watch TV when you are away..........(crazed chuckle)
So perhaps they champ on their owners as part of a secret revenge system?

Was that noise behind you ...your cat? (another crazed chuckle)
 
I'm unsure what this has to do with people hoarding animals :confused:

---------------
Saturday, 10/23/04 |
Middle Tennessee News & Information

Woman with at least 40 cats gets 50 citations


By KELLI HEWETT TAYLOR
Staff Writer

Strong odor of waste led Metro Health to investigate

Metro Department of Health officials have issued 50 citations against a Nashville woman reported for having at least 40 cats living in smelly, unsanitary conditions in her home.

Mary Virginia Meredith, of 410 Lancaster Avenue off West End, allowed health inspectors into the house yesterday morning to investigate the strong smell of pet urine. Authorities also visited Monday.

''You could smell it to the street, almost,'' said William Parker, assistant director of Environmental Health Services for the Metro Department of Health. ''We are working with them to see about getting them relocated'' while the home is cleaned.

Some furniture was saturated with cat urine and the floors were covered in cat feces, officials said. Meredith has made some progress cleaning up, they added.

The citations are for animal cruelty and for the cats' lack of state-required vaccinations. Those could be upgraded to state charges, which would include a mandatory mental evaluation, said Judy Ladebauche, director of Metro Animal Control.

Officials believe the retired schoolteacher was using the Internet to advertise as a foster-care provider for unwanted cats, under the name Huckleberry Foundation. They believe cats have been sent to her from around the country.

Meredith, reached by phone yesterday, said the cats remained at the home. She declined further comment.

She lives with her husband, Owen, whom authorities said is 79 or 80. Both may be facing health risks because of the living environment, Ladebauche said.

Authorities said they allowed the cats to remain for now because the pets appeared to be sociable and healthy.

''They seem to be in relatively good health. They are good-looking, healthy cats,'' Parker said.

It is the latest in a string of cases around the Midstate where residents have been investigated for having more pets than they could manage.

Some people, often the elderly, have been linked to animal ''hoarding'' or ''collecting.'' The behavior is linked with obsessive-compulsive disorder, where acquiring more animals eases stress. The pet lovers believe they are helping the animals and don't see or smell their worsening living conditions.

''As the population ages, the number of collectors is going to grow,'' said Laura Turner of Franklin, and animal welfare advocate who assists Metro Health with such cases.

Some experts believe more solitary lifestyles can contribute to the behavior.

Turner encourages anyone with a neighbor or relative with such pet problems, especially where cleanliness and health becomes an issue, to contact the Metro Department of Health for help.

http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/04/09/60229734.shtml?Element_ID=60229734
 
250 Cats Found In Feces-Covered Wis. Home

POSTED: 2:32 pm EST November 5, 2004
UPDATED: 6:15 am EST November 6, 2004

Authorities in St. Croix, Wis., condemned a house after 250 cats were found dead and alive inside a filthy house with floors covered with feces, according to Local 6 News.

Complaints from neighbors of a foul stench coming from the St. Croix home led investigators to the discovery.

Officials said many of the animals were dead by the time investigators arrived at the scene.

Bags of dead cats were videotaped being taken away in truck and sitting next to the home.

"Every cat that appeared to die in the home, stayed in the home," St. Croix Police Chief Paul Lindholm said. "It was difficult to breathe, so it's amazing how these people were even able to live in those conditions."

Many of the cats found alive in the home had to be put to sleep, although some live cats were still seen through the windows of the home.

Crews were sealing the home to make sure none of the living animals inside escapes into the neighborhood, according to the report.

Inspectors said the house must be razed once all the animals are removed.

Investigators say the homeowner apparently took in stray cats and just became overwhelmed by the situation.

http://www.local6.com/news/3895575/detail.html
 
Well as horrible as it is to set new standards in this kind of thing this is the worst case in recent years that I'm aware of:

Posted on Tue, Nov. 09, 2004


House of cats called historic

Local preservation society may attempt to save it

BY KEVIN HARTER

Pioneer Press

The house where nearly 400 cats were discovered last week, many dead and the others living amid piles of trash and feces, is one of the oldest in town and should be preserved if possible, local historians said Monday.

"If it can be saved, we'd like to, but from what we've heard, I don't know if it can be," said Durand Blanding, St. Croix Falls Historical Society president. Blanding and Polk County Historical Society Director Rosalie Kittleson say they understand the two-story white clapboard home's interior is badly damaged by cat urine and several inches of feces, but they want to look at options to save it.

The house, on South River Street in one of the oldest neighborhoods in the Polk County community of about 2,100 people, is considered a major health hazard and has been condemned.

The three occupants of the house — including the daughter-in-law and granddaughter of the Swedish immigrant who built it — are expected to be charged this week with animal abuse and possibly other counts by the Polk County District Attorney. Prosecutors are waiting to receive investigative reports from the St. Croix Falls Police Department and the Polk County Sheriff and Health departments before making a decision on charges.

Whether the house is razed will depend on the recommendations of investigators, primarily from the Health Department. A judge could ultimately decide its fate.

If a home is found to be a health hazard and a court-approved condemnation is ordered, the property owner is responsible for having it razed, county officials said. If the owner refuses, a court order can be sought to have it razed and the property owner billed.

The house is not on the National Historical Registry but is considered of local significance.

It was built 30 to 40 years after the first settlers arrived in St. Croix Falls, which is across the river from Taylors Falls and about 50 miles northeast of the Twin Cities.

Isaac Swenson, a Swedish immigrant, built the home about 1876 and set up a woodshop with a water wheel to power it, Blanding said. Swenson discovered the area was already home to many with his last name and changed his name to Weinhardt.

Swenson's son Percy Weinhardt, now deceased, lived for many years in the home with his wife, Dorothy. Dorothy Weinhardt is well-known in the community, but information about the other two occupants of the house — her daughter, 47, and son-in-law, 52 — is sketchier. None of the three could be reached for comment Monday. They have been moved out of the house and are said to be staying in a local hotel.

Dorothy Weinhardt, 86, a retired county health care nurse, is active in her church, Calvary Nazarene, and as a volunteer in town, including at the Good Samaritan Center.

The police chief, the mayor, a neighbor and her pastor all used words like "kind" and "nice" to describe her.

"She was very active for her age. And kind. I've never heard an unkind word spoken," said St. Croix Falls Police Chief Paul Lindholm.

Those who knew her had no explanation for what occurred at the home.

The situation was brought to light last week by an Xcel Energy worker who saw sick cats and inches of feces and contacted police, who then got a search warrant, which led to the home being condemned.

Officials said Monday the actual count of cats removed from the home is 397, down from the 450 estimated Friday when crews completed the removal and sealed the home.

National animal-rights activists and experts in the field of "animal hoarding" called that number significant.

Joseph Pentangelo, a former New York City police officer and now a special agent with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said he had never heard of that many cats being kept in a house.

He said he was not familiar with this incident, but generally in these cases, he said, "the issue is control, and it plainly does the animal no good."

Gary Patronek, a Tufts University veterinarian and founder of the Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium, also had not heard of the St. Croix Falls case but said often people who "collect" animals are said to be well-intentioned but that in trying to help, they ultimately do harm.

"There is a disconnect in what they do and say," he said. "It's not about helping. It's about satisfying a human need by acquiring and controlling animals to fill a hole, for whatever reason, in their life," he said.


Requires (free) registration:
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/10131994.htm
 
83 animals jammed into Mesa apartment

By Tracy Kurtinitis, Tribune

Animal care workers removed three dogs and as many as 80 cats from a Mesa apartment in the 600 block of West 10th Avenue on Tuesday after neighbors complained about the odor coming from inside.

Dressed in hazmat suits, the workers required the assistance of the Mesa Fire Department to remove the cats because there was more ammonia than oxygen in the air from the large amounts of cat urine and feces inside the apartment.

Scott Powell, 26, of Mesa said he called Arizona Animal Welfare League for a welfare check on a female neighbor after spending days smelling, but not seeing, the cats. The three dogs were outdoors.

"I’ve never seen a cat, but enough is enough," he said about the smell permeating his apartment since he moved in about three months ago. The woman, whose identity was not released, faces misdemeanor charges of animal neglect.

Devorah Young with the league said cats were running everywhere inside the apartment, including inside the walls, as she described efforts to herd them.

The dogs and the healthier cats were transported to Arizona Animal Care and Control. They may become available for adoption, pending the woman’s surrender of custody, officials said.

A number of the cats were sick from their living conditions, said Miriam Carranza, director of cruelty investigations for the Animal Welfare League. Those cats will be cared for by the league and the survivors may also come up for adoption, she said.

Powell said they way the animals were treated "hurt" his heart, especially the dogs he described as "the best in the world."

"The brown and black one is named Harley and it’s breaking my heart because that dog is so sweet and good with kids," he said.

The apartment will need to be gutted, said Rocio Gonzalez, who manages the complex.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=31350
 
WOMAN LEFT 23 PETS TO STARVE

Nov 13 2004

Animals found dead in house

By Stuart Griffiths

A WOMAN starved her pets for three months and left them to die while she went on holiday.

Maureen Smith, 26, had 39 pets in her flat, including more than 20 exotic animals.

They were left without water and food for three months and only found when SSPCA inspectors raided her home after neighbours complained of the smell of rotting carcasses.

Smith, from Motherwell, Lanarkshire, was banned from keeping animals for five years when she appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court yesterday.

But the SSPCA hit out at the sentence, claiming it was too lenient.

Smith had admitted causing unnecessary suffering to snakes, lizards, hamsters, guinea pigs and a rat between May and August last year.

The court was told that some of the animals had been dead so long they were mummified.

Sheriff David Bicket, who also placed Smith on probation, told her: 'I am concerned these animals suffered unnecessarily because of your actions.'

Smith's cruelty only came to light when SSPCA inspectors were called to the flat by neighbours who complained about the smell. She was on holiday and they had to break in.

Inspectors found 23 of the 39 animals were dead. A number of fish in a tank had also died.

Smith told inspectors she had only been on holiday for five days, but the SSPCA said the condition of the bodies indicated the deaths had not been recent.

A spokesman for the SSPCA said: 'What this woman did was appalling. It was a terrible case of neglect and abandonment.

'Smith claimed that she had gone on holiday for only five days, but clearly her neglect had been going on long before that.'

Smith's defence agent Stephen McBride said: 'She accepts her responsibility was to look after the animals and didn't do so.'

But the SSPCA said they were disappointed.

The spokesman said: 'A life ban stopping her from keeping animals at all would have been more appropriate.'

DEATH TOLL

6 mice, 4 guinea pigs,

3 hamsters, 2 hand snakes, 2 Californian king snakes, 1 gerbil,

1 rat, 1 ribbon snake,

1 gecko, 1 skink lizard, 1 corn snake

Source
 
Woman with 100 animals pleads guilty to misdemeanor


By LIZ SADLER
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: November 21, 2004)

A 35-year-old Yonkers mother of four children who was harboring more than 100 animals in her 143 Hawthorne Ave. apartment has been released from jail after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor.

Patricia Nichols pleaded guilty in Yonkers City Court last week to second-degree reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, for subjecting her children to dangerous conditions. Nichols also pleaded guilty to a prior traffic violation.

Sentencing is set for April 5.

Nichols had been held at the Westchester County jail in Valhalla since, according to police, she allowed a white pit bull to charge at an officer on Oct 12. Police were responding to reports that the house was being used to raise fighting dogs. Once inside, they said, they found the animals and children living in squalor, with animal feces and food everywhere. Police shot the charging dog to death.

Nichols faced felony and misdemeanor charges of attempted assault, menacing and child endangerment. A judge reduced the felony charge on Monday.

Meanwhile, a neighborhood group has been rallying behind Nichols and wants to lend its support. Raymond Pace, senior director of the North Yonkers Homeowners Coalition, said he was trying to contact Nichols to offer her counseling and career advice through a local church.

"We feel like the community failed in taking care of its own," he said. "We're going to come out publicly, along with the churches, and we're going to turn this into a family issue.

Source
 
Sixty felines euthanized

Mother, two daughters living in $500,000 house strewn with animal feces, garbage

By Jim Newton
STAFF WRITER

VERNON HILLS — More than 130 live cats and about 15 dead ones have been removed from a half-million-dollar home where a mother and her two teenage daughters were apparently living in squalor.

Lake County Health Department officials said Thursday animal feces and garbage were strewn about the house in one of the worst scenes the department has witnessed in 25 years.

"The conditions were really pretty awful," said Health Department spokeswoman Leslie Piotrowski.

"We call it animal hoarding," said Health Department Executive Director Dale Galassie. He said the department runs across two or three cases a year in Lake County, usually involving less than 20 animals, often belonging to an elderly person with mental disabilities.

The case in Vernon Hills is significantly more serious, Galassie noted, and he said behavioral health services and counseling are being made available to the family. He said a Vernon Hills social worker is also working with the woman, who is believed to be staying with her daughters in a motel.

The Vernon Hills Police Department contacted the Department of Children and Family Services, which is now involved with the case. Police Department spokesman Kim Christenson said that due to the circumstances of the incident, the woman will face no charges for violating a village ordinance on the number of animals residents may keep in a home.

Complaints from neighbors

The matter was called to the attention of police last Wednesday when neighbors of the home, located on the first block of Brookhill Lane, complained of a large number of cats in the area. Some mentioned unpleasant odors as well.

Two Health Department animal wardens removed about 130 cats from the home, as well as several dead cats. Also removed were a rabbit, two guinea pigs and a chinchilla.

Piotrowski said about 70 of the cats were taken to the Orphans of the Storm animal shelter in Riverwoods while about 60 had to be euthanized due to their condition.

Some cats gained access to the home's duct system and were still in the house Thursday, although officials were in the process of trapping them, Galassie said.

Whether the family returns or the house is sold, cleaning and rehabbing will be necessary before the village Building Department will allow it to be inhabited.

"The house in its current condition is unliveable," Galassie said.

Living in such conditions can make people vulnerable to several illnesses, Piotrowski said, including salmonella, gastrointestinal problems, parasites, fungal diseases and cat scratch fever.

Although access to spaying and neutering services was not a factor in the Vernon Hills situation, Galassie said he does want residents to realize that Lake County is one of the few counties that offers free spaying and neutering services to those who need them. For details on the program, residents should call (847) 377-8029.

---------------------
11/19/04

Source
 
18 Cat Skeletons Found in Couple's Bedroom

Nov 22, 6:44 PM (ET)

PORTERDALE, Ga. (AP) - Eighteen cat skeletons were found in a home where a couple was being evicted, and now the couple faces animal cruelty charges.

Melissa Payne, 28, and her boyfriend, Aleix Thomas, 32, were arrested after sheriff's deputies on an eviction call found the cat carcasses in a sealed-off bedroom. The room also was infested with fleas and cockroaches and was full of feces, said Investigator David Jones with the Newton County Sheriff's Office.

Payne and Thomas were each released on $15,000 bonds Friday.

"The house was just completely nasty, is the only way to put it," Jones said. "It had a horrible smell to it, so they started looking around, and once they opened one door and found the cats, that's when they called me."

Authorities said they didn't know why the cats had been neglected because ample cat food was found in the home.

"Apparently they were just put in there, the door was closed, all the cracks were sealed and they were just left to die," Jones said.

Three living cats were taken to Newton County Animal Control. The animals appear to be in good condition, said Animal Control Director Teri Key-Hooson.

Source
 
Dead, Malnourished Animals Found In Feces-Filled Apartment

Dead Condor Bird, Dog, Turtle, Lizard, Other Animals In Home

POSTED: 8:58 am EST December 2, 2004
UPDATED: 12:17 pm EST December 2, 2004

A 24-year-old Central Florida man was arrested after a report of dog jumping from a second-story window led police to discover several dead or dying animals inside an apartment filled with feces, according to Local 6 News.

Officers in Melbourne, Fla., were called to Greg Hynes' apartment Wednesday after a malnourished Rottweiler dog was spotted jumping from Hynes' second-story apartment window.

When investigators went inside, they found a dead Condor bird, lizard, turtle and dog in the apartment. Several other malnourished dogs and a malnourished albino Boa snake and a bird were also confiscated from the apartment, police said.

The apartment had "animal feces throughout," according to a report from authorities.

Hynes faces several counts of cruelty to animals. He was taken to the Brevard County Jail after his arrest.

All of the animals were taken by Brevard Animal Control officers. The living animals were taken to a shelter for medical treatment.


-----------------------------
Copyright 2004 by Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com.

Source
 
I was doing some research on OCD and stumbled across this article.


2004 Psychiatric Times. All rights reserved.



People Who Hoard Animals
by The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium, Corresponding Author Randy Frost, Ph.D.
Psychiatric Times April 2000 Vol. XVII Issue 4



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over 600 animals were found in the home of a Los Angeles woman, arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty. Some of the animals were already dead and some so ill they had to be euthanized by Animal Services. The woman insisted the animals were well-cared for and her home was clean, despite physical evidence to the contrary. She refused to voluntarily surrender the animals to animal control. Her fear? They would be euthanized. This woman could be described as an animal hoarder.

According to Gini Barrett, director of the American Humane Association Western Regional Office (Tamaki, 1997), animal hoarders are well-known to animal care professionals. "Collectors exist in almost every community, large or small, rural or urban. They are in a state of denial that prevents them from seeing the filth or understanding their animals are sick, dying or dead. They need help," she said.

The Symptoms of Animal Hoarding

While animal care specialists recognize these people are in need of psychiatric help, almost no psychiatric literature exists on this topic. The existing literature on the hoarding of animals by human beings has been written by officials of the Humane Society of the United States and animal shelter operators (e.g., Lockwood and Cassidy, 1988). Only one case series appears in medical or psychological literature. Worth and Beck (1981) interviewed multiple pet owners identified from complaint files of the New York City department of health and animal control agency and from their own personal acquaintance. Most of those studied collected dogs, or cats; men more often collected dogs, and women more often collected cats. Nearly two-thirds of their sample were women, and 70% were unmarried. Social isolation was common but appeared to result from the hoarding behavior rather than causing it. Most participants reported their collecting started in childhood. Many had no telephone, public utilities or plumbing, and many hoarded inanimate objects as well.

The authors speculated that their participants adopted a parental role with respect to their animals. This resulted in reluctance to remove any animals, even when adequate homes were available. Many of the collectors emphasized that their animals gave them "unquestioning and uncritical love." They tended to personalize and anthropomorphize their pets and viewed themselves as rescuers of suffering or unloved animals (Worth and Beck, 1981).

More recently, Patronek (1999) surveyed animal shelter operators about their experiences with people who hoard animals. Detailed information was obtained on 54 cases. An animal hoarder was defined as "someone who accumulates a large number of animals; fails to provide minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation and veterinary care; and fails to act on the deteriorating condition of the animals (including disease, starvation and even death) or the environment (severely overcrowded and unsanitary conditions), or the negative impact of the collection on their own health and well-being." These findings support some of Worth and Beck's conclusions. Most cases were female (76%), a large proportion (46%) were 60 years of age or older; most were single, divorced or widowed; and almost half lived alone. The most common animals involved were cats (65%) and dogs (60%). Based on the data collected, Patronek estimated that there are 700 to 2,000 new cases of animal hoarding every year in the United States.

The conditions described were fairly consistent in both studies. Dead or sick animals were discovered in 80% of reported cases, yet in nearly 60% of cases the hoarder would not acknowledge the problem (Patronek, 1999). In 69% of cases, animal feces and urine accumulated in living areas, and over one-quarter of the hoarders' beds were soiled with feces or urine. Hoarders' justifications for their behavior included an intense love of animals, the feeling that animals were surrogate children, the belief that no one else would or could take care of them, and the fear that the animals would be euthanized. As in Worth and Beck's (1981) report, a significant number of hoarders had nonfunctional utilities (i.e., bathroom plumbing, cooking facilities, heat, refrigeration and electricity).

The resolution of these cases was often protracted and difficult, and the hoarder frequently resumed the behavior. Sixty percent of the hoarders studied were repeat offenders. Many of the caseworkers expressed frustration with the perceived lack of cooperation from public and mental health professionals (Patronek, 1999).

To date, information about animal hoarders has been provided secondhand by officers and caseworkers investigating these individuals. Only one study has collected information directly from the animal hoarders. To address this problem, the Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium (HARC) was formed in conjunction with the Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy, Boston University, Northeastern University, Smith College and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The first HARC project was to interview people who meet the definition of an animal hoarder as well as people who own multiple pets but do not show the lack of care of their animals that is characteristic of hoarders.

Of nine interviews conducted to date, seven subjects were true animal hoarders and two had multiple pets but no problems in caring for them. Reports from these individuals are consistent with much of the information in the Patronek (1999) and Worth and Beck (1981) studies. All nine interviewees were female and most were over 40 years old. Five lived alone, two lived with a husband, two with children and one lived with her mother. Most of those interviewed also hoarded objects, causing their homes to be cluttered and disorganized. Other characteristics included the beliefs that they had special abilities to communicate or empathize with animals, that animal control officials failed to recognize the care the interviewees give to their animals and that saving animals was their life's mission. Typically, animals played significant roles in their childhoods, which were often characterized by chaotic, inconsistent and unstable parenting.

Explanatory Models for Animal Hoarding

Several psychiatric models have been suggested for problematic animal hoarding (Lockwood, 1994). The delusional model suggests that people who hoard animals suffer from a highly focused form of delusional disorder. Two pieces of anecdotal information support this model. First, in our pilot study, participants all firmly believed they had a special ability to communicate and/or empathize with animals. Furthermore, the hoarders insisted that their animals were healthy and well-cared for. This claim, in the midst of clear and immediate information to the contrary, suggests a belief system out of touch with reality. One interesting finding is that, outside the context of their relationship to their animals, many of these people appear reasonably normal and healthy.

Patronek (1999) suggested that animal hoarding may be a "warning sign for early stages of dementia," which would suggest a dementia model. This was based on the number of people who were placed in a residential facility or under guardianship (26%) and that the individuals showed no insight into the irrationality of their behavior. Furthermore, hoarding of inanimate objects occurs in about 20% of dementia cases (Hwang et al., 1998). There is little direct evidence for this model, however. It was not established whether institutional placement was due to dementia, and lack of insight is common in disorders other than dementia (e.g., obsessive-compulsive disorder or anorexia). Further, the hoarding of possessions is accompanied by an inability to recognize the problem (Frost and Steketee, 1998), yet our work does not show it to be closely associated with cognitive dysfunction.

Lockwood (1994) suggested an addictions model based on similarities to substance abuse, including a preoccupation with animals, denial of a problem, excuses for the behavior, isolation from society, claims of persecution, and neglect of personal and environmental conditions. Other evidence consistent with this model comes from research on impulse control problems. In particular, the hoarding of possessions is associated with several impulse control problems including compulsive shopping (Frost et al., 1998) and gambling (Meagher et al., 1999). Some animal hoarders report compulsive collecting of strays or shelter animals.

Small numbers of animal hoarders may be explained by a zoophilia model, in which animals serve as sexual gratification (Lockwood, 1994). Although in a few cases reported by the popular media collected animals were the objects of sexual activity, there is little evidence to support this model as a major determinant of this behavior.

Another possible model for animal hoarding is an attachment model in which the individual suffers from early developmental deprivation of parental attachment and is unable to establish close human relationships in adulthood. This situation may result from childhood experiences of absent, neglectful or abusive parents or caretakers. The chaotic households and inconsistent parenting observed in the HARC interviews, as well as the desire for unconditional love from animals described in Worth and Beck's report (1981), provide some support for this model. This model is also consistent with current theorizing about the hoarding of possessions.

Perhaps the most parsimonious model ties animal hoarding to OCD (Lockwood, 1994). Two major features are consistent with the OCD model. People with this syndrome appear to experience an overwhelming sense of responsibility for preventing imagined harm to animals, and they engage in unrealistic steps to fulfill this responsibility. OCD patients experience this same sense of excessive responsibility for preventing harm and engage in unrealistic ritualization to prevent it.

In addition, Patronek (1999) indicated that over 80% of animal hoarders also hoarded inanimate objects. Similar data come from Worth and Beck (1981) and from our HARC pilot study. Hoarding of possessions occurs in 20% to 30% of OCD patients (Frost et al., 1996), although it is a symptom that is somewhat distinct from other symptoms of OCD (Summerfeldt et al., 1999). The substantial overlap of possession hoarding and animal hoarding suggests that an OCD model may be useful. Hoarding of inanimate objects has received some attention in the scientific literature recently and may guide development of a conceptual model of animal hoarding.

Models for Hoarding of Objects and Animals

Frost and Gross (1993) define hoarding as "the acquisition of, and failure to discard, possessions that appear to be useless or of limited value." For this behavior to pose a clinically significant problem, Frost and Hartl (1996) suggested that living spaces have to be "sufficiently cluttered so as to preclude activities for which those spaces were designed," and the hoarding must create significant distress or impairment.

Hoarding of possessions involves three classes of problematic behaviors: acquisition, saving and disorganization. In most, if not all, cases of compulsive hoarding, compulsive acquisition (buying or collecting free things) plays a major part (Frost et al., 1998; Winsberg et al., 1999). People who hoard possessions score significantly higher on measures of compulsive buying and compulsive acquisition of free things (Frost et al., 1998). Recent data from our laboratory suggest that people who identify themselves as having problems with compulsive buying also tend to have problems with hoarding behavior (Frost et al., 1999). Central to this phenomenon is the inability to resist the urge to acquire an object, even though acquiring or possessing the object may create problems (e.g., financial, clutter and so on). People who hoard animals experience similar urges when seeing or hearing about an animal in need of a home.

The classic picture of the compulsive hoarder is the individual who saves everything and can throw nothing away. According to Frost and Gross (1993) possessions may be saved by both hoarders and non-hoarders for several different reasons. These include their sentimental value (emotional reasons or reminders of important life events), instrumental value (potential usefulness) or intrinsic value (beauty or attractiveness). The difference between people who hoard possessions and those who do not is that hoarders judge more possessions to have these values. This may also be true for people who hoard animals. Their attachment to animals is, in all likelihood, similar to other people's attachment, but it is applied to a much larger number or wider array of animals.

People who hoard possessions also have significant problems with organizing and maintaining their possessions (Frost and Steketee, 1998; Frost et al., 1995). This may be the most problematic feature of hoarding and the one responsible for the excessive clutter and chaos in the homes of people with this problem. Our experience suggests that this manifestation of hoarding must be addressed in any attempt to treat this problem. Anecdotal information about people who hoard animals suggests that their homes are typically in disrepair and apparent chaos. Similar problems with organization may prove evident among this group.

A recently developed cognitive-behavioral model describes compulsive hoarding as a multifaceted problem that stems from several deficits or difficulties (Frost and Hartl, 1996). These include information-processing problems, problems with emotional attachments to possessions and distorted beliefs about possessions. Avoidance of each of these problems leads to the chaos and clutter.

Information-processing deficits include problems with decision making that may result, in part, from difficulties in attending to, organizing and weighing relevant information. In particular, people who hoard seem to have difficulty with the process of categorization, which is necessary for organizing possessions. While there is no direct evidence that this applies to people who hoard animals, Patronek's study (1999) suggests animal hoarders have considerable difficulty maintaining a fully functioning home. This may reflect an inability to organize information, time and resources to complete basic tasks.

People who hoard possessions frequently identify their possessions as central to their identity so that losing (i.e., discarding) a possession often produces a grief-like reaction and sense of loss of part of themselves. Preliminary data from the HARC study suggest a similar phenomenon with respect to animals, even when the animals are not longtime pets. It may be that the mere sight of an animal in need of a home prompts an emotional attachment so powerful that the animal must be acquired. Once acquired, the animal receives very little attention to its basic needs yet cannot be given away.

Pilot interviews by HARC are consistent with the attachment model in finding that childhood experiences of abuse, neglect or extreme instability in the family may play a role in the development of hoarding. In several cases, animals served as stable fixtures in otherwise chaotic homes. Perhaps, in this context, animals serve an emotionally comforting role for vulnerable individuals, and attachments normally reserved for people are transferred to emotionally safer animals.

The finding that most people with this problem tend to be older and female (Patronek, 1999) suggests a developmental and gender-role link that may also have to do with feelings of vulnerability. Most of the people interviewed as part of the HARC project were relatively isolated and socially anxious, perhaps causing interactions with animals to be more comfortable than interactions with people. In these cases, animals may come to replace people in the hoarder's social world, which is consistent with the tendency observed among those interviewed to maintain their living spaces more like animal pens than human homes. This may suggest a disturbance in the way human attachments are formed.

Beliefs about the nature and function of possessions are another function of this model (Frost and Hartl, 1996), with a central belief being the hoarder's responsibility not to waste or misuse the possession. We suspect that a similar belief is prominent among people who hoard animals. Specifically, our preliminary findings suggest that people who hoard animals often believe they have a special gift for communicating or empathizing with animals, and that this is their life's mission (i.e., responsibility).

Some hoarders also express the need to maintain control over possessions. This results in increasing isolation and suspiciousness of others. We hypothesize a similar need for control among animal hoarders.

Like people who hoard possessions, animal hoarders often lack insight into the problematic nature of their behavior. A common and peculiar characteristic of people who hoard animals is a persistent and powerful belief that they are providing proper care for their animals, despite clear evidence to the contrary. In some cases, the home environment is so seriously impaired that the house must be torn down (Patronek, 1999). Careful assessment is needed to determine if this reflects a delusional disorder or overvalued ideation in the context of OCD. Delusional levels of paranoia regarding the actions and intentions of animal control officers frequently accompany this irrational belief.

Hoarders often cope with their behavioral deficits by avoiding them as much as possible. By saving things, the uncomfortable process of decision making is avoided, as well as the distress that accompanies discarding a cherished possession (Frost and Gross, 1993). Beliefs about responsibility and control and feelings of loss are never challenged by discarding and thus become rigidified. Likewise, animal hoarders may avoid uncomfortable decisions about turning away strays or treating sick animals by ignoring the problem or convincing themselves the animal is well. Similarly, dead animals are sometimes left to lie, perhaps to avoid feeling upset, guilty or responsible for the death. Thus, avoidance of discomfort may play an important role in the delusional features and possibly in other symptoms of pathological animal collecting.

Treatments for Animal Hoarding

To date, no research has addressed strategies for resolving cases of animal hoarding. What is clear is that adjudication of cases rarely alters the behavior. Until models for this behavior are established and tested, our understanding of this problem will be limited. Like many psychological conditions, the causes of animal hoarding are probably multiple and, therefore, assessment of emotions, behavior and thoughts must be multifaceted to point the way toward successful treatment.

For example, individuals with delusional thinking about their animals may benefit from relevant medications. Those with extreme attachment to their animals are likely to require long-term treatments and probably alternative sources of emotional connectedness. It is unclear whether those who hold strong beliefs about euthanasia and their perceived mission to save animals will be dissuaded from their convictions. Alternatives may be to forcibly limit their access to animals to prevent future problems, while addressing other features that lead to inadequate care of existing animals.

Research on animal hoarding is in its infancy, despite its seriousness and the frequency with which it is described in the news media. Directions for work on this problem include creating comprehensive methods of assessing the features and potential causes of animal hoarding and identifying potentially effective interventions to address the problem.

Acknowledgement

The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium is a collaborative effort to study the hoarding of animals. Members of the consortium include: Arnie Arluke, Ph.D., Northeastern University; Carter Luke, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; Edward Messner, M.D., Massachusetts General Hospital; Gary Patronek, V.M.D., Ph.D., Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine; and Gail Steketee, Ph.D., Boston University.

References

Frost RO, Gross RC (1993), The hoarding of possessions. Behav Res Ther 31(4):367-381.

Frost RO, Hartl TL (1996), A cognitive-behavioral model of compulsive hoarding. Behav Res Ther 34(4):341-350 [see comment].

Frost RO, Hartl TL, Christian R, Williams N (1995), The value of possessions in compulsive hoarding: patterns of use and attachment. Behav Res Ther 33(8):897-902.

Frost RO, Kim HJ, Morris C et al. (1998), Hoarding, compulsive buying and reasons for saving. Behav Res Ther 36(7-8):657-664 [see comment].

Frost RO, Krause MS, Steketee G (1996), Hoarding and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Behav Modif 20(1):116-132.

Frost RO, Steketee G (1998), Hoarding: clinical aspects and treatment strategies. In: Obsessive Compulsive Disorders: Practical Management, 3rd ed., Jenike MA, Baer L, Minichiello WE, eds. St. Louis: Mosby Inc., pp533-554.

Frost RO, Williams L, Steketee G (1999), Compulsive buying: relationship to OCD and OCD hoarding. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, Washington D.C., March.

Hwang JP, Tsai SJ, Yang CH et al. (1998), Hoarding behavior in dementia. A preliminary report. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 6(4):285-289.

Lockwood R (1994), The psychology of animal collectors. Trends 9:18-21.

Lockwood R, Cassidy B (1988), Killing with kindness? The Humane Society News of the Humane Society of the United States. 1-5.

Meagher E, Frost RO, Riskind J (1999), Compulsive lottery, scratch ticket, and Keno gambling: its relation to OCD, hoarding, impulsivity, and the urge to buy. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, Toronto, Nov.

Patronek GJ (1999), Hoarding of animals: an under-recognized public health problem in a difficult-to-study population. Public Health Rep 114(1):81-87.

Summerfeldt LJ, Richter MA, Antony MM, Swinson RP (1999), Symptom structure in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a confirmatory factor-analytic study. Behav Res Ther 37(4):297-312.

Tamaki J (1997), Tragic pattern of animal collectors. Los Angeles Times, pB1.

Winsberg ME, Cassic KS, Koran LM (1999), Hoarding in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a report of 20 cases. J Clin Psychiatry 60(9):591-597.

Worth D, Beck AM (1981), Multiple ownership of animals in New York City. Trans Stud Coll Physician Phila 3(4):280-300.


http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/p000425.html
 
Vermont Man Overrun by Goats Reaches Plea


Dec 11, 7:46 PM (ET)

CORINTH, Vt. (AP) - A man who tried to care for more than 300 goats and had some of the animals living in his house with him has had animals that were seized from him returned and won permission to move them out of state.

Chris Weathersbee, 64, pleaded guilty this past week to animal cruelty and two other charges as part of a plea bargain that called for the return of the seized goats and the removal of his herd to eastern Kentucky.

Weathersbee said he has hired a livestock trucking company and plans to leave soon for a Kentucky farm, where he expects the animals to be used on a vegetation-management project.

Weathersbee has acknowledged that he cannot adequately care for the animals, but had struggled to find a place that would take the animals but not kill them.

Years of tension between Weathersbee and his neighbors escalated last winter after Central Vermont Humane Society officials and Vermont State Police raided the Corinth farm and seized 44 goats that a state veterinarian deemed unhealthy. Those goats, along with kids that were either sent with their mothers or born while in the custody of the humane society, were returned to Weathersbee on Wednesday.

Source
 
Animal hoarder lived in squalor, police say in Canaan charges

TRACY KENNEDY, Register Citizen Staff

12/14/2004


BANTAM - There were birds, ferrets, rabbits, goats and 22 dogs and cats roaming free on the property at 34 Patty Lane in Canaan, but not a spec of food to eat or water to drink.

An arrest affidavit prepared by state animal control officers describes a home filled with animals but devoid of hay, grain, cat food or dog food for the animals living in their own waste in cages and pens.

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The affidavit was released on Monday in Bantam Superior Court, where Dolores Leffingwell was scheduled to appear before the judge to face 49 criminal charges of animal cruelty. The case was postponed to Jan. 12, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Cindy Palermo, because of a scheduling conflict.

Officers described a home where not only the animals were living in a state of severe neglect, but Leffingwell and her older children were found living in rooms where dead and decaying animals and piles of waste went unnoticed.

Leffingwell, 51, surrendered herself to state police at the Troop B barracks on Nov. 29 and she was served with the arrest warrant police said. She was released from custody on $2,500 non-surety bond.

On Nov. 5, state animal control officers seized three cats, 22 dogs, a ferret, two sugar gliders, five geese, three chickens, two goats, four green conures, an African green parrot, an Indian ring-necked parakeet, a lovebird, two cockatiels and a hedgehog from the Patty Lane home.

Three rabbits, a dove and a hermit crab were found dead at the property, reported Dr. Bruce Sherman, director of the Department of Agriculture Bureau of Inspection and Regulation. The arrest affidavit indicates some of the animals were very sick and may have been euthanized.

Animal Control Officer Richard Gregan reported when he first went to the Leffingwell residence on Nov. 3 to investigate a complaint, the "very noxious odor" of animal feces from inside the house was so bad it was detected from the outside.

The officers knocked at the doors of the house four times, but no one answered, he said. Through an open barn door they saw three dead rabbits in cages with no food or water available. With the basis of the neighbor’s complaint confirmed, Gregan returned two days later with a search warrant for the premises.

Trooper Robert Janco and Gregan seized 49 live animals and five dead animals at the home, Gregan reported.

Outside the house, the goats were emaciated, riddled with lice, missing hair and their hooves were overgrown. There was no feed in their pen or on the property and the animals resorted to chewing on the sides of the barn, the affidavit said. Dr. Sherman reported one of the goats, a tricolored doe, was only 47 pounds.

Several thin, filthy geese that were loose on property had "fouled green water" to drink but nothing to eat, he said. Officers captured two cats and three chickens, he said. "In the house we found the air to be extremely foul with high concentrations of ammonia and feces and urine of animals throughout the house," Gregan said. "The air had such a high concentration of ammonia that it caused this officer and other animal control officers on the scene to make their eyes tear."

Every room was filled with bags of garbage, debris and empty food cans. A room containing Shih-Tzu breed dogs in cages had no ventilation and was filled with piles of excrement from the dogs that had been there for some time. The cages were filthy and in disrepair, Gregan said, and dogs in top cages were able to defecate and urinate on dogs in lower cages. The animals had a variety of physical problems, including eye infections matted fur and urine burns.

Dr. David Sandefer of Sand Road Animal Hospital, reported several of the dogs needed surgery for eye problems.

None of the dogs had access to food or water, he said.

Fecal matter in the cage housing the ferret was seven inches high, the affidavit reported. The ferret and birds had no food or water. More than a month’s worth of feces was in the bird cages, he reported.

Gregan and his team found the dry carcass of what was once a dove in a cage. Another bird, dead and decomposed was found in the living room.


---------------------
©The Register Citizen 2004

Source
 
Phoenix Woman Had Lion, Bobcats at Home


Dec 17, 5:01 PM (ET)

PHOENIX (AP) - A Phoenix woman who kept a mountain lion and other wild animals in her home has been charged with child abuse and endangerment.

Michelle Carole Gierke, 32, admitted keeping a mountain lion, two bobcats and an African serval at her west Phoenix home.

She didn't have a state permit for the animals, and she sometimes left her small children alone with the animals.

Gierke acknowledged to officers that if the animals had gotten out, they would have been a danger to her neighbors. Her home is just a block from a school.

Source

[edit: I've also posted a report in the child neglect thread:

www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 040#476040

but I'll leave them unmerged as they work in both places.]
 
Man kept four-foot alligator in bath at his tower-block flat

Greets

(please relocate if there's a better place for it)

The Scotsman
Thu 23 Dec 2004

Man kept four-foot alligator in bath at his tower-block flat

GORDON SMITH

WHEN animal welfare and police officers, posing as prospective buyers, went to meet a man who had advertised a baby alligator for sale, they expected to find a creature measuring about 12in long.

They arranged to collect the alligator in the car park of the Comet store in Glasgow Road, Edinburgh, but when the car boot was opened the officers found themselves confronted with a 4ft reptile staring at them.

At Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday, 34-year-old Anthony Quinn of Kirkgate House, Constitution Street, Leith, pleaded guilty to keeping a dangerous wild animal in his flat on the 15th floor of the multi-storey block between 26 May and 7 July this year without having a licence from Edinburgh City Council; to causing it unnecessary suffering by failing to keep it in the proper conditions; and to culpable and reckless conduct by endangering others.

The alligator, a spectacled caiman, is regarded by experts as being "extremely dangerous". With quick reflexes and needle-sharp teeth, the species has a reputation for being bad tempered.

The court heard an advert offering it for sale was spotted by members of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA), who reported the matter to the police.

Liz Paton, the fiscal, told the court how James Cormack, an SSPCA chief inspector, and plain-clothes police officers opened the boot of Quinn’s Vauxhall Cavalier to find the 4ft alligator unrestrained and unmuzzled.

The reptile was a female, between four and five years old and weighed 7.5kg.

At the flat, Quinn showed the officers the bath in which he had kept the alligator. He had fixed up "a heating contraption" said the fiscal, but the wires were bare.

If the alligator had snapped at them, she added, it could have been electrocuted.

Quinn told the officers he had bought the alligator for £250 over the internet from a man called "Bobby Brown", although he did not believe that was the man’s real name. He collected the animal at the Harthill service station.

Ms Paton said Quinn told the police he was trying to buy a pond to put in the living room of his flat for the alligator and was feeding it on frozen mice and brown trout.

Quinn also said he had not realised how big the alligator was until he got it home. He claimed within a short time he realised how dangerous the animal was and decided to try and sell it for £400.

The fiscal said Quinn had waived all ownership rights to the animal and it was now in an animal sanctuary. It would be sent back to South America for breeding purposes when it was six years old.

The defence agent, Jim Stephenson, said Quinn lived alone in his flat and so no-one else had been in danger.

He said: "He had been looking to get a pet and, over the internet, came across the offer of an alligator for sale. He made further inquiries and did some basic research.

"He was under the mistaken belief the alligator he was buying was some 12 inches in length".

Mr Stephenson said Quinn had intended keeping the alligator in a 4ft fish tank.

His client, he added, "had been somewhat taken aback by its size and was not keen to take it, but the seller insisted on getting his money".

As soon as Quinn got it home, Mr Stephenson said, he realised he could not care for it and decided to sell it. A number of people had responded to his advert, but he was not convinced they would care for it properly.

He later indicated to the police that when he got the telephone call from Chief Inspector Cormack he had suspicions that it might be the SSPCA.

Mr Stephenson said Quinn got the frozen mice from a local pet shop, where they were on sale as food for snakes.

Sheriff Kenneth MacIver admitted he was at something of a loss to come up with a disposal that would meet the stupidity and danger to others of the offence. He deferred sentence for social inquiry and community service reports.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1459642004

mal
 
64 animals seized at fetid house

Thursday, December 23, 2004

Washington Twp. woman faces charges

By GENE VERNACCHIO
Courier-Post Staff
WASHINGTON TWP.

A 38-year-old woman here faces up to $64,000 in fines after authorities removed dozens of cats from squalor inside her Di's Court home.

Acting on a neighbor's complaint of a stench, Lt. Rafael Muniz of Washington Township Police said officers arrived Tuesday at the home of 38-year-old Katherine Mingroni Fowler and forced their way inside, fearing someone had died inside the Severon development home.

"When we went out there, we saw a lot of mail that looked like it was backed up for several days. And the vehicle out front looked like it had been parked there for a long time with dirt and debris under the tires. And we found a lot of newspapers scattered.

"Officers looked inside the windows and saw numerous animals walking around the living room and the whole floor was covered with feces," Muniz said. "They could actually smell it from the outside."

Once inside, officers found 54 cats, nine dogs and a turtle milling about garbage and an overpowering stink.

"The house was just a mess," he said. "There was feces all over the place. It was so bad that the officers needed masks to go inside."

He said one room was closed off and contained 30 cats. There were also 20 cats in the basement and the basement door was secured with several trash bags filled with animal feces.

"And there was trash, garbage and food lying all over the house," Muniz said.

Muniz said Fowler, who was not home at the time, lived in the home along with an 8-year-old son.

State Division of Youth and Family Services located the boy in school and later placed him with his grandmother, he said.

Fowler was given 10 days by the county board of health to clean up her property or face additional fines and possibly have the property sealed, Muniz said.

William A. Lombardi, director of the Gloucester County Animal Shelter, said his officers were called to the scene and removed the animals.

Lombardi said Fowler later surrendered all but one of the cats to the county animal shelter. However, she opted to place the dogs and the remaining cat in a private kennel.

The county shelter also is holding the turtle.

Lombardi said the animals were "in fairly decent condition, they weren't horrific," in terms of adequate nutrition and water.

But the living conditions, Lombardi said, were another story.

Muniz said Fowler will be charged with 64 counts of a disorderly persons offense for cruelty toward animals, one for each animal found in the house. Each count carries a possible fine ranging from $200 to $1,000.

New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Sgt. Jane Donoghue said the organization is assisting the police department, but additional charges aren't expected.

Donoghue said she visited the cats at the county shelter on Wednesday and found most in fairly good condition but flea-infested.

"She was feeding them, she just wasn't cleaning up after them," she said.

Unlike many other municipalities, Washington Township officials said they have no ordinance in effect that limits the number of pets permitted by homeowners.

Lombardi said eventually, the shelter will be seeking homes for the confiscated cats.

"That will definitely come up," he said. "But right now, nothing will be adopted because it's still pending an investigation."

The cats are being quarantined until a veterinarian can examine each individually, he said.

"We need to go through their health to make sure we're giving out a healthy animal," he said. WHERE TO CALL

# The Gloucester County Animal Shelter eventually will look for people to adopt the 53 cats it removed from the home.

# Anyone interested in providing a home for one of them may call the shelter at (856) 881-2828 to be placed on an adoption waiting list.

# If you want to give up your pet for adoption, call your local animal shelter.

# To report a case of cruelty involving an animal, call the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at (800) 582-5979.

Source
 
Silver Springs woman enters guilty plea to animal cruelty

ASSOCIATED PRESS
12/23/2004 10:55 pm



A Silver Springs woman was given 10 days to clear her property of more than 50 animals after she pleaded guilty to animal cruelty.

In exchange for the guilty plea Wednesday, citations against Julia Rush for having too many dogs and failing to vaccinate and license them were dismissed.

Rush, 51, was cited by Lyon County Animal Control officers on Sept. 29 after receiving complaints from neighbors.

“Animal Control officers found dirty water, overgrown hooves and dogs living in trash and feces,” the citation reads.

Photographs taken at the time show horse hooves so overgrown they curled under. Hooves on some of the nine horses measured 16 inches in length, according to court documents.

An estimated 50 dogs, 18 goats, and untold numbers of cats and sheep were also found on the property, Animal Control supervisor Ted Bolzle said.

When the citations were issued, Rush voluntarily surrendered 22 cats that were later discovered to be suffering from feline leukemia and AIDS, Bolzle said.

Sentencing on the misdemeanor charge was set for Feb. 2. Rush has a previous conviction for animal cruelty, and any subsequent charge would be a felony, authorities said.

Source
 
2 women found in filthy house with pack of pets

Mother and daughter face cruelty charges

Tuesday, December 28, 2004
By Charlie Chapple and Meghan Gordon
St. Tammany bureau

Two Slidell-area women are undergoing psychiatric examinations after being found living in squalid conditions with more than 50 sick animals in an unfinished one-room house with no water, electricity or other utilities.

Sarah Suckosh, 86, and her daughter, Leah Suckosh, 56, were taken into protective custody early Thursday after sheriff's deputies investigated a complaint about a horse having seizures outside the women's tiny home at 123 Addis St., Mark Lombard of the coroner's office said.

"They were living in absolutely deplorable conditions," said Lombard, chief forensic investigator for the office. "Had we not taken them into protective custody, they might not have made it. They would have been very susceptible" to the frigid weather that hit the area over the weekend.

The floor of the 16-by-20-foot shack was covered with human and animal feces, 3 inches thick in some places, parish government spokeswoman Suzanne Parsons-Stymiest said. In the house were a dozen dogs, 27 cats, four ducks, a rabbit, 10 chickens, four pigeons and a dead cat, she said.

The animals were sick and undernourished and had no food or water available, said Brent Robbins, parish director of animal services. Some animals were loose in the house, while others were kept in cages, he said. "Some of the cages had more than 50 pounds of fecal matter," Robbins said. "An animal carrier contained the dead cat."

Coroner Peter Galvan ordered the women to be taken into protective custody, Lombard said. They were brought by ambulance to NorthShore Regional Medical Center in Slidell for medical and psychiatric exams, he said.

After clearing medical exams, the women were committed by Chief Deputy Coroner Michael DeFatta over the weekend, Lombard said. They are receiving psychiatric care at two facilities in the area and can be released when doctors determine they are mentally competent, Lombard said.

Meanwhile, Robbins on Monday afternoon filed animal cruelty complaints against the two women with the Sheriff's Office. The women will be booked with the charges after they are released from psychiatric care, sheriff's spokeswoman Tiffany Tate said.

Robbins said the parish will seek a court order to maintain custody of the animals. "We don't intend to release the animals back to the owners unless a judge tells us to," he said.

After the women were taken into protective custody, St. Tammany officials seized the animals and took them to the parish shelter Thursday. Almost all the animals were dehydrated, undernourished and suffering from viral, bacterial and parasitic infections, Robbins said.

When deputies arrived at the women's home Wednesday about 11 p.m., they found Sarah Suckosh lying by the sick horse, which was stuck in the mud and having seizures, Tate said. Deputies and animal control officers had to persuade Suckosh to allow them to take the horse to the parish animal shelter, Tate said.

The horse was examined and euthanized at the shelter near Abita Springs on Thursday by a Picayune, Miss., veterinarian who had previously treated the animal, Parsons-Stymiest said.

The women apparently have been living on the property for more than two decades under primitive conditions with no utilities and only an outdoor hand pump for water. Neighbors and those who know them said the two lived in an abandoned bus for many years until the early 1990s. They then made their home in a storage shed until it was destroyed by fire this summer, neighbors said.

The women were living in a tent when about 15 volunteers, mostly Cleco and Atmos Energy workers, in August began building the tiny house for them with donated materials, said Bobby Jimenez, who coordinated the effort.

"But we weren't able to finish the house," Jimenez said Monday. "We ran out of materials and volunteers. A lot of us had to go to Florida to work after the three hurricanes" hit the state this past storm season. Jimenez said he recently contacted Slidell Habitat for Humanity officials, who were looking into completing the house. Jimenez said the two women were squatters for years on the property, which was recently donated to them by the heirs of the late Slidell businessman Bill Garrett.

The women were living in the uncompleted house with their animals when they were taken into custody.

Jimenez said that while working on the house, he noticed ducks, dogs, chickens, cats and the horse on the property. "Some of them didn't look like they were in the best of shape," he said. "But I didn't think that was for me to judge."

Some people who know the two women consider them eccentric, Jimenez said.

But one neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said she and other neighbors have complained about the stench from the animals for months.

Robbins said that although his department had answered complaints involving the women "about a horse running loose" and "a sick cat that had to be euthanized," his agency previously had no probable cause to investigate the women for animal cruelty.

The incident was the second time in 10 months that local animal control officers have seized numerous animals suffering from apparent neglect. In March, officers seized 164 dogs and ponies living in filthy conditions at the home of a Lacombe woman, Janis Walder, 67, who pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges in August.

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December 24, 2004

150 dogs seized at Douglas County site


By Cheryl Wittenauer
Associated Press

Nearly 150 dogs, many of them purebred, were rescued Thursday from "deplorable" and frigid conditions at a breeder's home outside Macomb, authorities said.

Working off a citizen complaint, rescuers said they found "row upon row of wire cages with dirt bottoms" and disintegrated tops that exposed the animals to the elements. They also found feces-covered food and bowls of frozen water.

Kathy Warnick, president of the St. Louis-based Humane Society of Missouri, called it an "emergency rescue" from an "alleged substandard puppy mill."

"In these freezing temperatures, this is a life-threatening situation," she said.

The Humane Society, the Douglas County Sheriff's Department and the Douglas County Animal Welfare League rescued 147 dogs, including Saint Bernards, Great Pyrenees, mastiffs, cocker spaniels, shelties, Pomeranians, basset hounds and a pug. They also found an undetermined number of dead animals, as well as living dogs that are deaf, blind, or suffering serious health conditions.

Warnick said the owner, a woman, surrendered the animals to the Humane Society after being served with a warrant for their removal. She has not been charged with anything, but Det. Vernon Johnson of the Douglas County Sheriff's Department said authorities were investigating.

The animals were taken to St. Louis for veterinary evaluation and care, and to be adopted, eventually.

The Humane Society says Missouri ranks No. 1 for the number of dog breeding facilities and the number of animals produced. Warnick said Missouri produces one-third of all puppies sold in the nation's pet stores.

Just last week, a state audit said dogs are being left at risk of death and illness because inspectors do a poor job of citing breeders for health and safety violations.

The audit faulted the Missouri Department of Agriculture for failing to complete annual inspections of all licensed animal facilities, overlooking health and safety violations that some inspectors considered "nitpicking" and not imposing or collecting many fines. The audit also said the state could do a better job of coordinating with federal inspectors, who tend to cite more violations.

The Agriculture Department said its main problem is a lack of money and staff.

Source
 
Saturday, January 8, 2005

47 dogs removed from house in Waynesburg

By Cara Host, Staff writer


WAYNESBURG – Police officers and animal control specialists confiscated more than 50 animals Friday that were all living in a small house on Lincoln Street.

Three adults shared the home with 47 dogs, eight cats and at least three guinea pigs. Officers could be seen covering their faces and struggling to deal with the stench emanating from the house as they tried to collect the animals.

"We're standing about 20 feet from the house and we can still smell it," borough Manager Jed Howard said as he assessed the situation from the sidewalk outside the structure at 9 Lincoln St.

Howard condemned the building, and borough police officers ordered the three people living there to leave before the end of the day. Lillian Spear, 46, Timothy J. Martin, 44, and Lois Spear, 37, all face charges of animal cruelty and related offenses.

The three rented the house off Doug Hoskins, and they have been living in the two-story home for about a month. Hoskins said he had no idea his tenants had animals, and only learned of the problem when he received a call about a week ago from the state dog warden.

Animal control officers became familiar with the three people when they lived in Brave. Greene County Humane Society confiscated a few of their dogs while they lived there, but obviously not all. They apparently maintained a pet collection and they took most of the animals with them when they relocated to the borough.

"They seem to be collectors," said Jane Gapen, executive director of Greene County Humane Society. Gapen referred to the syndrome in which a person accumulates more animals than he can possibly care for. On average, the humane society responds to one animal hoarding case a year, Gapen said.

Often, the animals in a collection are malnourished and diseased. However, the dogs and cats that officers recovered from the house on Lincoln Street appeared to be relatively well-fed.

"Yes, they were all fed. They were just living in those deplorable conditions," Gapen said.

Gapen said that animal waste was found throughout the house. To combat the odors, officers asked to borrow breathing apparatus units from Waynesburg/Franklin Township Fire Department so they could searched the residence for animals.

John C. Thomas, the local dog warden, officials from the humane society and borough police officers managed to recover all of the animals, with the exception of three cats, which should be captured soon. The animals are now at the humane society on Jefferson Road.

Many of the animals will have to be euthanized. Gapen said the dogs and cats will be examined by a veterinarian and those that are healthy and friendly enough may be offered for adoption.

The animal owners will face charges of animal cruelty, running an illegal kennel and having no licenses or rabies vaccinations on the dogs. It is against the borough's laws to own more than three pets at a time, so they also will face citations under that ordinance.

Source
 
Dozens of Animals Taken From Pa. Home


Jan 10, 5:52 PM (ET)

WAYNESBURG, Pa. (AP) - Police and animal control officials have confiscated dozens of cats and dogs that were living in a small house with three adults.

The animals included 47 dogs, along with cats and guinea pigs. They were confiscated Friday by police and animal control specialists in Greene County.

Borough Manager Jed Howard said the smell from the home was overwhelming. Authorities went to the home after the building was condemned and the residents were ordered out.

"We're standing about 20 feet from the house and we can still smell it," Howard said Friday.

The tenants had been renting the apartment for about a month. The landlord, Doug Hoskins, said he had no idea the tenants had animals.

The pets were well fed, but officials said they were living in deplorable conditions. The animals were taken to the local humane society office.

Source
 
Posted: Monday, Jan 10, 2005 - 12:52:51 am CST

131 horses seized from Greene County property


By The Associated Press



REPUBLIC, Mo. - More than 130 starving horses have been seized from a Greene County property and their owner arrested, the Humane Society of Missouri said Sunday.

It took 13 1/2 hours and 16 trailers to haul the 131 horses _ mostly paints _ off the 180-acre property outside Republic, the Humane Society said in a news release.

The Greene County Sheriff's Office arrested the owner Friday and got a search warrant Saturday that allowed investigators onto the property. It was not immediately clear what prompted the arrest of the horses' owner. He was being held Sunday in the Greene County jail on unrelated warrants.

Six dead horses were found, and many of the surviving animals were thin to emaciated with open wounds. Investigators found little to no pasture for grazing and no other sources of food, the release said.

"Some of the horses were trying to eat old empty sacks of alfalfa or grain," said Debbie Hill, director of rescues and investigations for the Humane Society. "There was absolutely no food available."

After examining some of the horses, a veterinarian determined that the horses would not make it through the winter and many were in need of immediate medical attention.

Rescuers _ as many as 20 to 30 at a time _ worked through Saturday night to load the horses into trailers, Hill said.

About a dozen of the sickest horses _ many of them under 6-months-old _ were transported to the Humane Society of Missouri's Longmeadow Rescue Ranch in Union. Two have been transferred to a veterinary hospital.

The Carthage Humane Society has agreed to take 31 of the animals for evaluation and treatment. The rest of the horses have been taken to an undisclosed location in Greene County, Hill said.

Source
 
Owner of 4ft cayman bit off more than he could chew

Greets

news update:

Owner of 4ft cayman bit off more than he could chew

Martin Wainwright
Thursday January 13, 2005
The Guardian

A lonely man who kept a cayman in his bath escaped a jail sentence for endangering the public yesterday after a judge decided that he was too stupid to have realised the lethal nature of his pet.

Anthony Quinn, who tried to sell the 1.2 metre (4ft) South American spectacled cayman from his car boot in a supermarket car park, was told he was lucky not have had his arms or other limbs bitten off.

"If it was not for the utter stupidity of your actions then I would have to think what happened was more sinister," said Sheriff Kenneth MacIver at Edinburgh sheriff court.

"The whole ridiculous set of circumstances came about as a result of complete and utter thoughtlessness on your part. The person most at risk throughout was yourself."

The court heard that Quinn, 54, an unemployed father of two, had tried to recreate a tiny patch of rainforest for the protected reptile in his home on the 15th floor of a tower block in Leith. He rigged up a heating apparatus which nearly electrocuted the cayman, and also had fantastical notions of keeping it - 70 razor sharp teeth and all - in an inflatable paddling pool in his living room as it grew towards its adult length of 2.4 metres.

The judge told him: "This is a very bizarre case and I have struggled to come up with an appropriate sentence."

The court heard that Quinn had bought the cayman on the internet for £250 under the impression that it was a foot long and would make for interesting company. His lawyer, Jim Stephenson, said the deal had been done at a Scottish motorway service station with a man known as Billy, who refused to take the reptile back when Quinn protested that it was four times bigger than expected.

PC Gavin Ross described a sting operation that caught Quinn after he readvertised the cayman for sale. He told the court that the reptile had been in a box in the boot of Quinn's Vauxhall Cavalier, "hissing and snapping away, and altogether not very happy".

Quinn, who had earlier pleaded guilty to keeping a dangerous wild animal, was banned for five years from keeping animals, apart from two pet birds which the sheriff acknowledged were important companions. The cayman has been taken into care by the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, whose staff have renamed it Janet Street-Porter.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1389210,00.html

".. staff have renamed it Janet Street-Porter. "

(any good cartoonists around??)

mal
 
LOL - and I thought stupidity was no defence ;)

---------------
Animal hoarder faces sentencing

Silver Springs woman kept 60 cats and dozens of dogs

Sandi Wright RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
1/12/2005 10:05 pm



The term “cat lady” might conjure up an image of a little old woman whose house is filled to capacity with dozens of cats languishing in every available space.

The well-intentioned person starts with a couple of strays or free-to-good-home animals. But the person can lose control and soon get to the point of neglecting or abusing an expanding animal collection, experts say. The syndrome is known in animal protection circles as animal hoarding or animal collecting.

That’s what Ted Bolzle, Animal Services supervisor for Lyon County, believes Julia Rush of Silver Springs was doing.

Rush pleaded guilty Dec. 22 in Dayton Justice Court to animal neglect and cruelty charges. Lyon County officials — responding to complaints — found about 60 cats, nine horses and dozens of dogs on her property. At least 20 animals were living in the mobile home she rented.

Lyon County code allows people to have only three animals without a special permit, Bolzle said.

Some of the horses had overgrown hooves, to the point of cruelty. Dogs were penned in kennels full of mud and feces with food that had just been thrown to them, he said. The cats were feral (wild). Water bowls were full of algae and trash. The odor was overwhelming, he said.

“This was by far the worst case I’ve seen in this county. I cannot describe in words how horrible this was. I’m sure she thought she was helping them,” Bolzle said.

Rush did not return several messages left for her Wednesday, and her public defender Lane Mills could not be reached for comment.

Her sentencing is at 10 a.m. Feb. 2 in Dayton Justice Court.

Tom Blomquist, executive director of the Silver Springs Spay-Neuter Project, said he accompanied Bolzle to Rush’s mobile home last week and was horrified.

“When I went into the house, I felt like I was in a Vincent Price movie. There were cobwebs from floor to ceiling and there were dogs in a back room that you couldn’t go into because they were so wild,” Blomquist said.

Bolzle said they found a female dog and seven pups in the back room in about a foot of filth and dog feces.

The mother isn’t socialized, but he said workers believe that with some work and attention, she will become an adoptable pet. One of her pups died, but the other six appear to be doing well and will need homes soon.

The judge allowed Rush to find homes for many of the dogs, but most had to be euthanized because they were vicious or diseased, Bolzle said.

About half the feral cats were diseased and had to be euthanized, he said. The rest remain on the property.

Blomquist said Nevada law is too lenient in animal cruelty cases. No matter how severe the act is that leads to a charge, a person has to be convicted twice before the third charge is a felony.

“What I want to see and what I expect to see are more defined laws,” he said.

Bolzle said he hopes he never has to see another case of animal hoarding.

“People who do this have noble intentions. They feel they can save the world, but before they know it, they’re overwhelmed,” he said.

“It’s not malicious, it’s actually a by-product of good intentions to try to save the animals but not knowing how much they can handle. I say it’s like drugs — just say, ‘No,’” Bolzle said.

FAST FACTS

Animal hoarding is the pathological collecting of animals. Signs include:

* Amassing a large number of companion animals.
* Failing to provide them with proper food, water, shelter, veterinary care, and sanitation, resulting in squalid living conditions for both the animals and the hoarder.
* The hoarder failing to act on the animals’ deteriorating condition.
* Severe starvation, dehydration, parasite infestation, rampant disease, attacks among animals, cannibalization, and uncontrolled breeding.
* Sanitary conditions deteriorating to the point where living and food preparation areas no longer serve their original purpose, as clutter, urine and feces accumulate in living spaces.
Source: Animal Protection Voters based in New Mexico

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