Monday, June 25, 2012

52 cats seized, 9 later euthanized, from Chaparral home



By Brian Fraga
Doña Ana County Sheriff's investigators on Thursday seized 52 cats 
from a Chaparral home, where nine of the cats later had to be 
euthanized because of poor health.


The homeowner, identified as Charles Gonnell, 62, was not home 
when the search warrants were executed, but he is facing charges 
of extreme animal cruelty and codes violations, officials said.

Dr. Patricia Norris, a full-time veterinarian on staff with the Doña 
Ana County Sheriff's Department, said she examined the cats and 
found that all of them suffered from a combination of skin diseases, 
upper respiratory infections and ulcerated mouths.

Norris euthanized nine cats because of the pain and suffering 
associated with their extremely poor health.

"All of the cats were suffering quite a bit," Norris said. "These 
conditions are hard to treat, and most would likely not recover 
at this stage of illness."

The sheriff's investigators, members of the department's Animal 
Cruelty Task Force, obtained two warrants Thursday after receiving 
a tip of animals being hoarded at a house in the 500 block of 
Amparo Road in Chaparral, said Kelly Jameson, a spokeswoman with
 the Doña Ana County Sheriff's Office..."  More

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