Man keeps 3 dogs, 4 cats in dirty car

Virginia Beach police arrested a man on Monday charged with four counts of animal cruelty after animal control responded to a call where they discovered seven animals--three dogs and four cats--stuck inside a Volkswagon Vanagon in a parking lot.

The cats were in pet carriers and the dogs were loose inside the van. The owner of the vehicle was staying in a hotel adjacent to the parking lot; a friend of the van owner, Ira L. Shader, 58, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., claimed ownership of the animals..." More

Animal Control Task Force turns over report

By PAMELA BRUST

"...The Wood County Commission-appointed Task Force on Dog and Animal Control recommended cat licensing, expanding dog fees, as well as providing additional education and training on animal control issues...

...Commission President Rick Modesitt had no comment on the task force report.

"I've read through the report once, I'm going through it again, and looking forward to finding solutions for the animal control problems in the county," Commissioner Blair Couch said.

"The primary problems are the result of over-population and lack of funding," according to the report.

The task force recommended commissioners decide whether they want to continue funding the humane society's costs associated with the care and disposition of cats. For the long-term, the group recommended a fee be imposed on cat owners.

It was recommended the commission provide funds, possibly through grants, to develop a public animal control presentation for public education covering the problems, duties of officers, benefits of spaying/neutering, adoption of dogs and other animal control issues. The task force also recommended additional training for animal control officers, including search and seizure laws and customer service.

The commissioners were also advised to work closely with the Save A Kitty nonprofit Feral Cat Program and pursue cost-effective options to increase awareness and dog license collections. There was also a recommendation the commission seek legislative support to "update and expand the fee schedules for dogs and other animal control," including addition of a cat fee and a differential fee scale based on whether an animal is spayed or neutered.

The county is operating under the service terms of last year's contract after agreeing to pay the humane society an additional $21,972 on the existing contract to assure the agency would continue providing afterhours animal control services through June 30, 2010. The county and municipalities were notified, as of July, the society would cease providing those services, and the commissioners met with several private companies about employing them to perform afterhours services before reaching agreement with the humane society.

The county funds the humane society partially out of the general county fund and partially from the assessor's office dog tag fund. The additional money for the existing contract came from the county's cash carryover.

The society has also warned the county effective July 1, 2010, it would cease all animal control services for governmental entities if additional funds were not forthcoming. Between all the governmental entities, officials said nearly $200,000 is paid to the humane society for the services...." More

Kim Maggio, Perfect Paws - Frazier Park, CA

Feb 8, 2010: Woman faces 20 animal cruelty charges

By James Burger

A woman with connections to convicted animal abuser Cynthia Gudger was arrested Monday on animal abuse charges of her own.

Kim Maggio, 49, of Frazier Park was evicted from her home on Elm Trail just before 10 a.m. Monday as a result of a bank foreclosure, a Kern County Sheriff's Department report stated.

During the eviction, which was attended by Kern County Animal Control and Code Enforcement officers, seven dogs, 12 cats and one rat were found living inside the home in "deplorable" conditions without fresh water.

One dead dog was in a freezer.

Most of the living dogs were small breeds, according to Lt. Dennis Smithson of the Kern County Sheriff's Department, who was at the home Monday morning.

The sheriff's report states that some of the animals' legs were covered in feces.

Inside the home the stench of urine and feces was so strong that it burned officers eyes and throats, reports stated.

Smithson said they didn't expect to find the terrible conditions in the home.

"We knew there were going to be a lot of animals," he said.

Animal control and code enforcement officials were there to take custody of whatever animals were found.

What they found was an unsanitary environment.

"It was pretty bad," Smithson said. "There was dog feces; you had to walk pretty carefully to get around it. There was no water. I mean there were water dishes but they were filled with urine and dog feces and what might have originally been water."..." More

Feb 8, 2010: Frazier Park woman accused of animal cruelty

A woman was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty Monday after being evicted from her home.

Kern County Sheriff's deputies served an eviction notice on 49-year-old Kimberly Maggio, because her home on Elm Trail was being foreclosed, according to a sheriff's office news release.

Deputies had prior knowledge of a large number of animals living on the property, so they called county animal control and code compliance officials to assist with the eviction.

Animal control officers found seven dogs, 12 cats and one rat living in "deplorable conditions," according to the sheriff's office. The animals didn't have fresh water, some of the animals were covered in feces and the smell of excrement was so strong that it burned the eyes and throats of the authorities serving the eviction, they said.

One dead dog was also found in the freezer.

Maggio faces 20 possible counts of felony animal cruelty, and the animals were seized by animal control, the sheriff's office said..." More & video

Feb 8, 2010: Dog Found In Freezer During Eviction Search, 1 Arrested

A woman was arrested on 20 counts of felony animal cruelty charges after deputies said they found dogs, cats and a rat in the foreclosed home she was living in. They also said they found a dead dog in a freezer.

On Monday around 9:45 a.m., the Sheriff’s Civil Section served an eviction in the 600 block of Elm Trail in Frazier Park. The eviction was the result of a bank foreclosure.

The sheriff’s office had prior knowledge that the resident had a large number of animals in the residence. As a result, Animal Control and Code Compliance were asked to assist..." More

Gallery: Inside a Hoarders Home

The Moorhead Neighborhood Services department discovered possessions and garbage that had prevented the homeowner from using most of her household appliances and functional spaces in the home. Moorhead Neighborhood Services photo..." More pictures & article

THE HABIT OF HOARDING

More than just being a packrat

jessica stewin

The doors have been opened to the secret lives of hoarders and as we look inside we see the piles of garbage, trails made through the madness and excessive numbers of pets that simply can’t be cared for in the mess. Hoarding has stepped into the limelight and people are becoming more and more aware of this issue with stories on shows like Oprah or the A&E show Hoarders, dedicated to pulling people out of their hazardous living conditions.

Most individuals aren’t likely to admit a fault that they have, whether it’s an unflattering character trait or a quirk they are simply unwilling to own; for hoarders this is no less true. Hoarders start out by seeing themselves as mere collectors, but slowly they become fixated. Compulsive hoarding goes beyond being a packrat — it’s an obsessive need to acquire or an inability to discard items. Watching an episode of Hoarders, you see the ramifications of this lifestyle as they face eviction, the loss of their children, jail time or divorce. The show provides hoarders with the help they need to get out of their crowded situation, including professionals and an organizer. In just 60 minutes, minus commercial time, we see the struggling that people endure as their beloved “stuff” is thrown out the window and watch the healing process of letting go. Each episode features two different stories, and at the end of the episode they show who has kept their hoarding behaviour under control and who has begun collecting once again.

At times, hoarders are keeping things in their homes that are dangerous, unsanitary or simply worthless garbage. These are people who walk out that front door and live their lives just like anybody else. You may walk by their front door everyday not knowing the “treasures” they are holding hostage in the homes. This was the case with Carina De Ocampo of Jacksonville, Fla.. She was an odd and private person whose own family left food at her front door and drove away. But last October her body was discovered in the narrow trails she had made through the garbage in her house.

The number of people who would be considered hoarders is difficult to measure. Hoarders could be fined tens of thousands of dollars by local authorities for zoning, health code violations or animal abuse, but for this to occur there needs to be someone reporting the cases to the authorities. Neighbours may not even know that this is going on right across the street and families may give up in frustration, unable to fight against the junk. Hoarding experts appreciate that the media’s attention to compulsive hoarding may allow hoarders-in-hiding to find the confidence they need to step out of their overstuffed homes and seek help. However, there is a concern that the media’s frenzy around this problem is making solutions out to be easier than they really are..." More

15 cats, one house -- all to themselves

By KATE DUBINSKI

Even for seasoned London Humane Society investigators, the find was a first: a house maintained only for cats.

Fifteen felines -- more than seven times the number any adult is allowed -- lived in the Huron St. house. Several of the cats were pregnant, many were feral.

The cat house was unfurnished, except for a dining room table, two end tables and a floor lamp.

Someone fed the cats daily, but no one lived there. The smell of ammonia -- caused by a mixture of cat urine and spray from male cats -- clung to the clothes of the inspectors who seized the cats.

The curtains were discoloured and the floor was gone. The cats were living on the sub-floor, soaked in urine and male spray.

"I believe it's the first house I've seen dedicated solely to cats," said inspector Chris Chew, who estimates he goes at least once a month to homes where people hoard large numbers of animals. "The house appeared to be in dire (need of) renovations and I would say it is now uninhabitable."

While the case was extreme for London, animal hoarding is on the rise, Chew said. "Hoarding is a surprisingly frequent phenomenon. I wouldn't say it happens ever day, but it's more frequent."

"We see everyone from people in low-class housing to people that are financially set," Chew added.

People who hoard animals tend to think of themselves as rescuers. Often, they can rhyme off information about all their pets -- everything from ages, to names and stories, Chew said..." More

Animals seized at East Texas Pupply Mill

By Erin Moore

Eighty-seven dogs and six cats, living in what investigators call deplorable conditions, have been seized at a puppy mill in Panola County, Texas.

Investigators said charges are pending against the owner.

A state veterinarian who was at the scene on Thursday as the dogs, puppies and cats were seized by authorities, said the dogs had all kinds of diseases and several had mange. They were kept in cages in a building and were covered with feces, he said.

Panola sheriff's investigators said they got a tip from Houston, where the animals were being sold to breeders and pet stores.

Investigators said the conditions were so bad, they had to wear safety gear. .." More