Animal Hoarding News & Info

ANNOUNCEMENT: We have a new website & blog! We are happy...

Sun, 03 May 2009 02:31:00 -0400

ANNOUNCEMENT:

We have a new website & blog!

We are happy to announce we have completed our new website:

Animal Hoarding: Alone in a Crowded Room

We created our website to inform and educate the public about animal hoarding. We are not experts, but we are a network of volunteers affected by animal hoarding, and want to share what we have learned.

Within this site we have gathered the resources for not only the human addicts, but for their friends and family, as well as the animals victimized.

Our hope for this site is to help you become aware of, educated about and take action against hoarding This site was created to inform and educate the public about animal hoarding. We are not experts, but we are a network of volunteers affected by animal hoarding, and want to share what we have learned.

And finally, THANK YOU all for following us here on Tumblr, but we are officially moving to eBlogger.

Animal News & Info

This site will remain up until I can transfer all the existing information to the new blog.

Breeders say seized dogs were cared for Some who have seen the...

Sat, 02 May 2009 14:25:42 -0400

Breeders say seized dogs were cared for

Some who have seen the 70 animals contend county’s move wasn’t needed

KEVIN GRASHA • KGRASHA@LSJ.COM FROM LANSING STATE JOURNAL

The 70 dogs seized Monday from a Mason-area breeder were well fed and cared for, according to local breeders who have seen them. And, a woman who specializes in rescuing dogs agrees with the breeders…

“She probably got more dogs than she could handle,” said Ellen Brandenburg of Thornapple Aussies in Vermontville. Referring to television news footage, Brandenburg said: “I see dog houses, I see toys, I see clean concrete. She can’t be condemned for having wet dogs when we’re having a monsoon.”… More

UPDATE: No Dogs to be Euthanized

By, Jason Colthorp, WILX

MICIHIGAN — To our viewers who saw or read the story on wilx.com about 70 dogs seized from a home in Mason, Monday, take a bow, you’ve helped save dozens of dogs by getting the word out about the need for adoption.

Ingham County Animal Control told wilx.com Tuesday night, every adoptable dog has found a temporary or permanent home thanks to folks who lined up outside the shelter from sunrise to sundown. That means no dogs will be euthanized due to overcrowding.

Other animal shelters, including the Cascades Humane Society, also stepped in to take some of the 70 Australian Shepherds taken from that home.

Animal cruelty charges could come sometime this week against the woman who owned the dogs and was a licensed kennel and breeder. Her license was revoked Monday.

Staff at the shelter worked well into the night Monday, cleaning impacted mud and fecal matter from many of the 70 pure bred show dogs. One staff member said it would have taken weeks for the dogs to get so much dirt and mud built up on their paws and fur. Some had urine-stained paws, as well.

Authorities have not released the woman’s name as of Tuesday…” More

Authorities seize 70 dogs; homes sought

By, Ryan Loew, LSJ

MASON — The Ingham County Animal Control seized 70 dogs from a Mason-area kennel Monday, in what officials are calling the largest seizure in the agency’s history.

Most of the dogs are Australian Shepherd dogs and were living in conditions one deputy described as “atrocious.”

“Some were living in mud and water,” said David Wilcox, deputy director of the Ingham County Animal Control. “One of the pens outside was completely covered with approximately 3 to 4 inches of water where the animals had no way to get out of the water.”

Other dogs were housed in kennels inside a garage-like structure attached to the owner’s home, Wilcox said.

“The kennels all had several inches of feces in them … it looked like they were just throwing wood chips on top of them to cover it up,” he said.

The seizure began Monday morning when an Animal Control deputy received an anonymous tip alleging poor conditions at the kennel…” More & video

Photo by: Ryan Loew/Lansing State Journal

People Line Up To Adopt Seized Chihuahas By: Audrey Adair,...

Sat, 02 May 2009 14:18:00 -0400

People Line Up To Adopt Seized Chihuahas

By: Audrey Adair, WMBB

Eighty-two dogs were seized from a Calhoun County home last week and today Bay County Animal Control receives the go ahead to start adopting out the chihuahuas…

Beth Hall, the 59-year-old woman who the dogs were taken from, is charged with felony animal cruelty and 105 misdemeanor charges of animal neglect… More

Judge Gives Bay County Animal Control Ownership Of Seized Dogs

“… Judge Kevin Grover, ruled in favor of the request by Bay and Calhoun County to take ownership of the dogs and start adopting them out to new homes. Animal control tells News 13 they’ve already received around 250 pre-applications for the dogs…” More

Apr 29, 2009: Animal Control Seizes More Than 100 Animals

By: Audrey Adairm, WMMB

Calhoun County, Fla — What began as an investigation for one horse ends in the seizure of more than 100 animals, 90 of them dogs. When the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office went to check on a report of a malnourished horse. What they found triggered a much bigger investigation…

“Conditions were horrible,” says Bay County Animal Control Director Jim Crosby. “Some of them were in small cages, some of them were in cages off the ground, some of them were living lose, some we caught them under the beds, in book cases, behind things”

Crosby and his team spent the entire day rounding up puppies both inside and outside the property. He continues, “The floor in this residence seems to be saturated in urine and feces.”

Bay County Animal Control found 30 dogs outside on the property, but that number has more then doubled as they continue to pull dogs from inside the house. They found 90 dogs total, all chihuahuas. As well as five horses and 16 goats.

Beth Hall, 59, is charged with one felony count of animal cruelty. However, those charges could soon increase with every animal found. Calhoun County Sheriff David Tatum explains, “I expect that each of the animals that we remove here from this point on, primarily dogs, she will receive a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty.” He says the investigation initially started because of a malnourished horse found on the property but that revealed a much bigger issue. Remains were also found. Sheriff Tatum says, “And it too, appears to have a hole in its skull like perhaps it.. The animal was shot.”…” More & Video

Almost 1,000 animals seized in feed-store raid in Dalworthington...

Sat, 02 May 2009 14:13:27 -0400

Almost 1,000 animals seized in feed-store raid in Dalworthington Garden

DALWORTHINGTON GARDENS — A police raid on a feed store this week netted about 240 dead animals and more than 700 live animals that were for sale as pets, the Humane Society of North Texas estimated Thursday…

he animals housed at the feed store included dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, rats, mice, ferrets, turtles, lizards, tarantulas and boa constrictors.

The actual number of dead animals was higher, said Tammy Hawley, the Fort Worth-based group’s operations director.

“We were only counting whole carcasses,” she said. “Some of them had been cannibalized by the other animals, so we weren’t able to count those parts.”.. More

Apr 30, 2009: Animals Seized from Pet, Feed Store

Lari Baragerm My Fox

DALLAS / WORTHINGTON GARDENS, Texas - A local feed store popular with children for its pets was raided Wednesday by the Humane Society of North Texas. FOX 4’s Lari Barager explains what prompted authorities to take the animals and she talked to the store’s owner (Adam Zduniewich of Adams Feed)… Link

RSPCA: Animal Hoarders

Fri, 01 May 2009 18:33:27 -0400

Animal hoarders live secretive, reclusive lives. Their closest companions are the animals they...

New Strict Breeders Bills Introduced In New York State Senate

Fri, 01 May 2009 18:19:39 -0400

Two new bills in the New York State Senate would severely limit the operations of responsible dog...

Apr 21, 2009: Couple Charged With Animal Cruelty Ordered To...

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:31:03 -0400

Apr 21, 2009: Couple Charged With Animal Cruelty Ordered To Clean House

JACKSON, Miss. — A Pearl couple charged with 31 counts of animal cruelty has been given 30 days to clean up their home, which police said was covered in animal feces.

Earlier this month, investigators confiscated 31 animals from the home of Bennie and Paula Keyes in the 2200 block of Upper Drive in Pearl. Police said they found Feces covering the floor of the home and feces inside the animals’ cages. Officials also found animal corpses in the refrigerator.

Most of the animals had to be euthanized because of poor health. The three surviving dogs and a cat have been adopted…

In addition to the animal cruelty charges, the couple is each charged with one count of child neglect for keeping a 3-year-old in the home. Police haven’t said if the boy is Bennie Keyes’ biological child.

Bennie Keyes is also charged with 31 counts of failure to provide sustenance to animals, one count of possession of a schedule 3 substance, 27 counts of possession of animals above the city limit, one count of unsanitary conditions and one count of disorderly conduct. All of the charges are misdemeanors…” More, Video & Slideshow

Apr 3, 2009: Pearl man faces 28 counts of animal cruelty

GANNETT.COM BY CHRIS JOYNER AND HEATHER CIVIL

Mississippi — A Pearl man is in custody charged with 28 counts of animal cruelty after police removed dozens of dogs and cats in poor health and unsanitary conditions from a home at 2229 Upper Drive in Pearl.

Pearl police arrested Gerald Keyes around 10 p.m. Thursday after responding to a domestic disturbance call placed from inside the house.

A 3-year-old boy also was taken from the house and hospitalized for observation.

Investigators are still on the scene. In addition to the animals still alive, about eight frozen bundles believed to be animal remains were removed from a refrigerator inside the house.

Police believe more animals may be buried in the back yard. They say Keyes apparently has been practicing veterinary medicine without a license…. More

Apr 4, 2009: 28 animals found in squalid Pearl home

3-year-old living in feces-laden house with sick dogs, cats; cruelty charges faced

Pearl Animal Control officer Heather Rogers said the smell of urine was overpowering at Keyes’ home, and feces was on every surface inside the house.

“On the couch, on the floors, kennels and crates,” she said. “Not only were there animals living in those conditions, the child was living in those conditions.”

The house was declared unfit for human habitation, Pearl police Capt. Ronnie Conerly said.

Conerly said late Friday afternoon he had discovered records that officers responded to a call at Keyes’ home in 2005 requesting a welfare check on a juvenile. At that time, officers noted a bad smell and found 20 to 30 cats in the home. The investigation was turned over to Animal Control.

Apr 4, 2009: Two kittens, two puppies from Pearl home euthanized

County may shut down High Springs cat shelter By, TRACEY...

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:13:00 -0400

County may shut down High Springs cat shelter

By, TRACEY MCMANUS, Alachua County Today

HIGH SPRINGS, FL – The chorus of purring cats has blended with the routine sounds of High Springs for years, but their song might not be heard much longer.

Haven Acres Pet Sanctuary houses nearly 300 cats on an eight-acre island of county-zoned land surrounded on all sides by High Springs. Steve and Pennie Lefkowitz have been running the pet rescue since 2003 but may no longer be able to operate because of the concerns and complaints of their neighbors.

After the Alachua County Planning Commission’s April 15 vote to deny a permit for the Lefkowitzes to continue operating, the couple will now face the Alachua County Commission in May to hear if they have to close the shelter and disband the cats.

However, the well-being of High Springs residents is not the only matter the County Commission will consider in May. Some say the cat sanctuary is not a shelter but a case of animal hoarding, which ends up putting the throng of animals in an environment of disease, filth and malnutrition.

To Steve Lefkowitz, his shelter saves hundreds of homeless animals from being euthanized every year while helping the community at the same time.

“We arrange for spay and neuter services to people at low cost or no cost, we advise and assist with health and nutrition, and we have even provided food at no cost to those in financial hardship,” Lefkowitz said. “We feel we have provided very valuable services.” ..” More

Public domain photo

Apr 29, 2009: Accused animal hoarder off to mental hospital An...

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:57:37 -0400

Apr 29, 2009: Accused animal hoarder off to mental hospital

An accused animal hoarder and abuser will be sent off to a state mental hospital after she was found incompetent to stand trial.

Wednesday morning, Cynthia Gudger found out she will not be forced to take involuntary medications and will be sent to the Patton State Hospital as soon as there is a bed open for her.

Gudger’s defense attorney said there is a long waiting list for the hospital, so Gudger may stay in jail for a while longer…” More & Video

Apr 8, 2009: Accused Animal Hoarder’s Day In Court Didn’t Last Long

Mar 12, 2009: Accused animal hoarder incompetent for trial

By: Bakersfieldnow.com Staff writers

Bakersfield, CA — “…Gudger, who is widely known by her false alias of Anita Gilbert, is facing 10 charges of animal cruelty after animal control officials seized nearly 50 dogs and cats from her Tehachapi home in July.

The 60-year-old woman allegedly has a history of hoarding and abusing animals and a history of using aliases. She was arrested most recently in late October after skipping a court appearance in August. When she was found, Gudger was staying in an Oxnard motel with about 20 cats, including one dead cat in a freezer…” More

KERO ABC 23 video

KGET NBC 17 video

From Bakersfield Californian Newspaper:

Horse rescue operation to continue By, MAUNETTE LOEKS, Star...

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:22:13 -0400

Horse rescue operation to continue

By, MAUNETTE LOEKS, Star Herald

BRIDGEPORT — Animal rescue officials expected to move the last of more than 200 starving horses today from a Morrill County ranch.

Humane Society of the United States has described the removal of horses and burros from 3-Strikes Mustang Ranch as one of the largest equine rescue operations in Nebraska.

The ranch’s owner and operator, Jason Meduna, had been arrested on a charge of animal cruelty last Friday, but was released after making bail on Sunday. On Wednesday, animal rescue officials had hoped to remove all 200 horses from the ranch after Meduna signed the horses over to Habitat for Horses and LifeSavers…” More

April 28, 2009: WISCASSET Vet describes animals’ recovery...

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:38:15 -0400

April 28, 2009: WISCASSET Vet describes animals’ recovery from ‘horrific’ home environment

By Betty Adams, Kennebec Journal

WISCASSET — Most of the animals seized in January 2008 from a Somerville kennel run by Fern Clark are enjoying better health now, a state veterinarian testified Monday at Clark’s trial.

Dr. Christine Fraser, a veterinarian for the state Animal Welfare Program, testified that with surgery, pain medication, good dental care and proper nourishment, most of the 66 dogs and four cats are doing well after being taken from Clark when the state executed a search warrant at her kennel Jan. 19, 2008…

She has maintained her innocence, saying she loves animals and has raised them for 35 years…

Fraser testified about the medical conditions afflicting the five animals that are at the root of five felony charges of aggravated cruelty to animals.

Assistant District Attorney Andrew Wright showed a number of photos of the live animals — at the time of the raid and today.

He also showed photos from the necropsy — an animal autopsy — of the two dead dogs whose bodies were removed from a freezer in Clark’s kitchen… More

April 27, 2009: WISCASSET Vet describes animals’ recovery from ‘horrific’ home environment

By Betty Adams, Portland Press Herald

WISCASSET — The director of Maine’s animal welfare program testified that conditions in a Somerville kennel were “horrific” during the execution of a search warrant in January 2008.

“I felt I was going to vomit with the smell,” Norma Worley said today at the start of the trial of the kennel owner, Fern Clark.

Clark, 79, is charged with five counts of aggravated animal cruelty and 16 counts of criminal cruelty to animals.

Her jury-waived trial is being heard by Justice Andrew Horton in Lincoln County Superior Court. Clark’s attorney, Andrews Campbell, said Clark was never cruel to animals and, instead, kept older animals alive More

A Theoretical Perspective to Inform Assessment and Treatment Strategies of Animal Hoarders

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:37:00 -0400

By: Gary J. Patronek & Jane N. Nathanson Abstract: Animal hoarding is a poorly understood,...

Special Report: Dirty Houses By: Kathryn Burcham, WHIOTV CLARK...

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:11:27 -0400

Special Report: Dirty Houses

By: Kathryn Burcham, WHIOTV

CLARK COUNTY, Ohio — Hoarding is a secretive, obessive behavior that could be happening in the life of your loved one.

It’s called hoarding and officials said it does not just threaten the health of individuals, but the safety of their entire neighborhood…

Chatfield said he sees a handful of hoarding cases in Clark County every year. In one Springfield home, investigators found stacks of sewing materials, newspapers and clothing collected by an elderly woman who lived there. The worst of it though, was the dog feces that covered the floor…” More & slideshow

Animal hoarders show behavior patterns By Carol Ferguson,...

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:05:00 -0400

Animal hoarders show behavior patterns

By Carol Ferguson, Eyewitness News
Troubling cases of animal hoarding in Kern County raise questions about who ends up collecting large numbers of animals, and why. There are patterns experts say, and those are reflected in local cases.

Accused of animal cruelty, Cynthia Gudger was finally arrested last October. That was months after her home near Tehachapi was raided, and nearly 50 animals found in what officials called filthy conditions.

In November, eleven horses were rescued from a home in Twin Oaks. Animal control officers said they were badly malnourished, and the owner couldn’t take care of them.

In 2003, a Bakersfield apartment was raided, and about 30 cats were found inside. That was Debbie Bracamonte’s apartment. She started out with two cats, then took in a neighbor’s cat that turned out to be pregnant….” More & video

POLITICS: Boots on the Ground for Animals

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:55:37 -0400

BY: Michael Markarian, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund As everyone knows, money...

Huge rise in abandoned pets as recession bites: RSPCA

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:05:00 -0400

LONDON (AFP) – Household pets have become the latest victim of the global slowdown, with the number...

Just how did that clutter accumulate, anyway?

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:11:00 -0400

By Ruth Wong, Star Bulletin “…How does clutter accumulate? There are many reasons, but...

Experts examine cases of animal hoarding

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 11:09:21 -0400

By Katy Moeller - McClatchy Newspapers “…”I think of these as little animal...

Dozens of Animals Removed from “Environmental...

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:59:41 -0400

Dozens of Animals Removed from “Environmental Hazard”

News West 9.com

MIDLAND COUNTY, TX - Midland County officials have seized dozens of animals from a home in southern Midland County that they are calling an environmental hazard.

Deputies served a search warrant at 1101 West County Road 180 around 7:30 Friday morning. 64 animals, including dogs, cats, goats, horses and a donkey were taken from the property.

A pregnant 17-year-old girl and a two-year-old toddler were taken from the home by Child Protective Services.

Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter says his deputies first went to the home Wednesday for a domestic disturbance call. Deputies say numerous animals were in the home and the smell of animal waste was unbearable.

Two people, including a deputy, were bit by a cat while officials were rounding up the animals. Both people were taken to the hospital for treatment.

No charges have been filed in the case so far…” More

GOOD NEWS: Best Friends & the Michael Vick “Vicktory...

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:17:00 -0400

GOOD NEWS: Best Friends & the Michael Vick “Vicktory Dogs”

April 20, 2009 : 12:16 PM ET

In the world of professional journalism, it’s not often your interview subject leaps off the ground and nearly bowls you over with slobbery kisses. But Tom Farrey of ESPN had a very special interviewee in Georgia, one of the Vicktory dogs. Hey, she’s a diva extraordinaire. She doesn’t care one sniff about conventional rules, on or off camera. She goes with the moment!

Tom and crew were at Best Friends working on a “Where are they now?” update story about the Vicktory dogs. It’s a timely piece for their audience because Michael Vick is fast approaching release from prison. The crew wanted to follow as broad a range of Michael Vick’s dogs as possible, including those who went to other foster homes and rescue groups around the country…” More