Marsha Erskine- Spokane, Washington

Feb 9, 2012:  Woman Wants Charges Pressed In Animal Hoarding Case

How was a Hillyard woman able to hoard hundreds of animals over nearly three decades without anybody stopping her?

That's the question on many minds after Spokanimal officers again seized dozens of animals Wednesday from Marsha Erskine's home on East Crown.

That small home she lived in was a private hell for 50 animals.


"He is wanting something to drink but he couldn't drink because the trough that was filled for him with water was frozen and you can see where he'd been licking it," Marilyn Mayer with Spokanimal said.

One of the cats that was rescued has its skin peeling off because Spokanimal says it was forced to live in a kennel lined with inches of feces and urine.

The nightmare for dozens of animals ended Wednesday because someone finally said something.

"When I got there the house reeked of urine you could smell it a house away," Erin Wakefield said.

Back in October, Wakefield's 15-year-old Chihuahua disappeared. She assumed he was dead until in mid-January, when a friend spotted the dog at a Hillyard gas station; a special marking on her tail gave her away.

That led Wakefield back to Marsha Erskine's home where, she says, the animals there were begging to be freed.

"They just wanted to go; I know that sounds funny but they just wanted out and I haven't been able to get it out of my head," Wakefield said.

Erskine's husband answered the door and Wakefield told him she wasn't leaving without her dog. The man handed it over.

"She was horribly dirty, she was covered in feces, her ears were all rotted out," Wakefield said.

Wakefield is now working on pressing charges against Erskine..."  More & video




Feb 8, 2012:  Animal Hoarding Discovered In Spokane


by Alex Rozie

Authorities recovered more than 40 animals on the 3600 hundred block of East Crown Wednesday in Hillyard. Spokanimal says the homeowner is not only a repeat offender, but a "constant offender." Spokanimal Representative Marilyn Meyer described the animals as "bone thin" and said that they had been "sleeping in their own feces."

KHQ Local News asked neighbors on Wednesday if they had any contact with the homeowner. They said she always seems pleasant, but they knew her to have a problem with animal hoarding and that is why they continually report her. They say that she also used to have sheep and goats, but only got rid of both of them when they began to eat her siding.

Spokanimal representatives on scene said that they do not plan to fine her for each malnourished animal as she is of low income, but it seems likely that she will not be able to own any animals for at least a year..."  More