Local News
Monday, February 08, 2010
Animal neglect cases risingFOR THE REVIEW TIMES
Animal abandonment and neglect in Hancock County have become common, Hancock County dog warden Dana Berger says.
On Jan. 22, Berger said he received two particularly disturbing calls.
Chad Masters, an emergency response coordinator with the Findlay Health Department, notified him of a report of animals living in inhumane conditions at a Findlay home. Masters and Berger found two people sharing a home with 17 animals: 11 dogs and six cats.
Photographs of the inside of the home reveal floors caked in feces and a fresh urine puddle in the middle of one room.
"Once (people) get used to the smell, it doesn't bother them," Berger said, but he and Masters couldn't bear to stay in the home for more than 15 minutes because of the odor.
While the animals were well fed and appeared to be otherwise healthy, the living conditions were hazardous to humans and animals alike, Berger said.
"We're dealing with a type of hoarding, is what it is," Berger said. "Where the cruelty comes in is the living conditions."
The only thing heating the home was an oven, as there was no working furnace.
The tenants were forced to surrender the majority of the animals.
"It was too many in the household, and they could not care for them properly," Berger said.
Seven of the dogs were shepherd mix puppies, around three or four months old. Berger took all of them to the Humane Society and SPCA of Hancock County, along with the six cats. Teddy's Rescue has since taken three of the puppies.
Berger said the Humane Society will spay and neuter the four adult dogs that remain with their owners.
The tenants insisted on keeping the four adult dogs and were allowed to on the condition they would clean up the home by Jan. 29. They were also instructed not to obtain any additional animals.
Berger said the tenants kept their word and cleaned the place up, but said he will continue to stop by unannounced to make sure they are keeping it clean. They have also been instructed by the health department to get a working heater, and have been allowed a grace period to do so.
The same day, Berger was called by a landlord reporting abandoned animals in a former tenants' home.
The landlord discovered when the tenants moved out, they left many of their belongings. Living among abandoned furniture, miscellaneous items and large piles of garbage were an adult female Chihuahua and a cat. A ferret lay dead in its cage.
"The (tenants) were asked to leave in November, and no one had seen them coming in and out," Berger said. "(The landlord) believes there hasn't been anyone in there for at least a month. She had asked them to leave, but did not force them because they had children."
Berger believes the dog and cat survived by eating garbage. He assumes the ferret died either of starvation or cold temperatures, as the heat was shut off. The dog and cat have been transferred to the Humane Society.
With the exception of being slightly underweight and a little scared, the Chihuahua, whose shelter name is Mariah, appears healthy.
"She's been someone's pet. Someone loved her," said Paula Krugh, director of the Humane Society. "But they just left her."
The animals have not been claimed by their owners, and Berger said the owners will face charges of animal cruelty if found. He knows their names but has not been able to track them down.
"You have your hoarding and your abandonment cases, and we're seeing more and more of them," said Krugh. "I think a lot of people get that false sense of security that because Findlay is a nice community, these things don't happen here. But they do."
In another recent incident, a female wirehair terrier, 1 or 2 years old, was dumped in the parking lot of the Walmart on Tiffin Avenue.Witnesses watched as people in a car tossed the dog out and drove away. Berger was called to pick up the terrier. She too is now at the Humane Society
Two additional dogs were recently dropped off unannounced at the Humane Society, one tied to a post outside and another left inside the intake center during the day while no one was looking.
So far this year Berger has seen a total of nine abandonment cases. The shelter has taken in 31 dogs, either through animal control pickup or through people turning in strays.
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Ph: (419) 435-6641 • Fax: (419) 435-9073
113 E. Center St. • P.O. Box 947
Fostoria, OH 44830
The Findlay Publishing Company
P.O. Box 609
Findlay, OH 45839-0609
Phone: (419) 422-5151
www.findlaypublishing.com
Please read our privacy guidelines
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