Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Cat rescue: "It was the single worst thing I have experienced in my life."

BY DIANA NELSON JONES

My editor asked me to cover the rescue of cats in a hoarding situation in Arlington yesterday, but I was mercifully spared by our daylight police reporter, Sadie Gurman, who wrote about it in today’s PG.

As a cat lover, I was anticipating the assignment with a dread that I would be sick all day.

As it is, I am sick anyway, mostly because a human being had descended into such squalor without herself being rescued by neighbors.

Neighbors. It’s supposed to mean something. Neighbors are supposed to have each other’s best interest on one of their front burners. Neighbors are supposed to have each other’s backs.

So while everyone may be vilifying the person whose animals were carted away by people in hazmat suits, Walkabout wants to remind you that the neighbor in trouble is the neighborhood in trouble.

Matt Hogue, who went into the house and provides these photos, emailed me this message afterward: “It was the single worst thing I have ever experienced in my life.”

He sent me the story of his experience, writing that “there are places to turn in case you know of someone in this situation or you want to report animal neglect.”..."
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