Hundreds of rats found in hoarding case

By Ashley Meeks

"I had no idea what I was getting into," Ernest "Gino" Jimenez said Thursday of his first rat-hoarding case in 14 years with Las Cruces animal control. "Never, and I hope to never see it again."

Inside the rented stucco house on the 4800 block of Camino dos Vidas, on the East Mesa, rat feces was "wall to wall" and covered the surface of the renter's bed, Jimenez said.

"The smell was overwhelming," said Jimenez, who did not see any human food in the home. "She did have some rat food, but they've got access to everything. They're eating cardboard, paper, stuffing out of the couches, I mean everything. ... You could see little bite marks on all the (bed) coverings."

Two skinny dogs and 176 red-eyed, Albino rats had been taken to the shelter by the end of the day Thursday, with at least that many still hiding in the home, Jimenez said. Officers also found the fur and skeleton remains of two dead dogs that were presumed to have been eaten by the rats, he said.

Debbie Martin, 55, a renter in the 4800 block of Camino dos Vidas, was criminally cited for excessive waste, improper care and maintenance of animals and dead animal removal. The three misdemeanors each carry a maximum fine of $500 or 90 days in jail.

The hundreds of large, feral rats removed from Martin's home all sprang from a single breeding pair within the last few months, said neighbor Chuck McReynolds.

"I helped her carry in some furniture in there three months ago and there was nothing..." More

100 ANIMALS SEIZED FROM HOME

The Tompkins County SPCA Humane Investigators removed 100 animals from a residence in Brooktondale.

Investigators found animals in unsanitary conditions in the overcrowded one bedroom home.

The SPCA says the individual in the home self-identified as an animal rescuer. 100 animals including dogs, cats, rats, guinea pigs and chinchillas were taken into custody by the SPCA, including several animals found deceased on the property.

As of today, 59 animals have been signed over to the SPCA and are being made available for adoption as medical and behavioral health is established.

The remaining animals are being held as the SPCA’s investigation continues..." More

Animal hoarder beyond Canadian law

July 10, 2009

MONTREAL, July 10 (UPI) -- Canadian animal rescue officials say they can't prosecute a Montreal woman for keeping hundreds of small animals in her apartment under old laws.

Acting on a tip Monday, the Montreal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals went to the apartment of an unidentified woman and found a menagerie of more than 200 rats, rabbits, cats, dogs, lizards and hedgehogs, The Gazette newspaper reported Friday.

Workers seized 93 rats and three rabbits from the apartment that SPCA director Alanna Devine described as "pretty horrific," the newspaper said.

She said the other animals were left behind as the woman was "reluctantly cooperative."

Canadian animal care laws date back to the 19th century and the SPCA would have to launch costly legal action to prove the woman willfully was harming the animals, the report said.

Pathology expert Gary Patronek told the Gazette animal hoarding is like an addiction and often the perpetrators aren't aware they're doing something wrong.

"There's some big hole in their psyche, and they're trying to fill it with animals," he said.

Humane society finds hundreds of pet rats in cramped Montreal apartment

By: Andy Blatchford

MONTREAL - Acting on a tip, humane society inspectors recently visited a cramped Montreal apartment where they discovered reptiles, rabbits, birds, dogs and cats living under squalid conditions.

They also found hundreds of rats. And the woman who was living with the little buck-toothed furballs?

Well, she was keeping them as pets...

Devine believes the woman displays the classic signs of animal hoarding, which can sometimes be connected to an obsessive-compulsive disorder.

She said inspectors found as many as 40 rats squeezed into cages designed to contain no more than four of the rodents, creating filthy conditions. The creatures had also been deprived of food and water.

"This was someone who had way too many animals for the care that she was giving them," said Devine, whose organization persuaded the woman to hand over close to 100 rats and a few rabbits.

"We're obviously happy that she did the right thing and gave up some of these animals, but we're hoping to be able to convince her to give up more in the near future."...More

Montreal SPCA rescues 93 rats from animal 'hoarder'