By TAFT WIREBACK
Grady Road resident Carolyn Johnson knew that her 150-plus cats strained the limits of her ability to feed and care for them.
That’s why she called the Humane Society of the United States earlier this month seeking help with the brood at her impromptu shelter on the city’s rural fringe.
The response? A raid Monday morning and the seizure of all but two of Johnson’s felines and one of her six dogs, plus the looming possibility of animal cruelty charges.
Johnson said the raid and its resulting furor were completely unnecessary and at odds with the reality at her ad-hoc shelter. Animal-welfare experts counter that Johnson is a pet “hoarder,” suffering from a borderline mental disorder that left her unable to see the daily agony her little charges experienced.
“It’s characteristic of a hoarder — they don’t see the forest for the trees,” said Kimberly Alboum, state director for the Humane Society. “It’s so hard to look at these cats with sores, infections and disease that could have been treated. It’s so painful to realize the amount of suffering that they have been through.”..." More
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