Hoarding 10 dogs, several cats
Upper Milford Township, PA (US)Incident Date: Friday, Mar 9, 2007
County: Lehigh
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Ruth E. Lonsinger
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
Friday morning, animal control officers removed at least a dozen animals from a Upper Milford Towship home and they say they still have to go back for more.
Police and animal cruelty officers were greeted by several cats ready and waiting to be helped as they pulled up to this home on Indian Creek Road in Zionsville.
There was no homeowner to be found, but about 10 dogs and 20 to 40 cats.
Around back, cages which once housed the animals are now rusty and abandoned..and inside conditions are even worse. Some animals were found running around freely through dirt, and waste. Others were doubled up in small cages tied with phone chords. Officials say they think the animals were eating their own feces to survive.
They reportedly had no food, had no water, and all are skinny. Two or three of them are allegedly blind completely, some are blind in one eye.
Neighbors say the homeowner has health problems and moved a while ago, but they say she told them someone checks on the animals every day. Animal cruelty officers say that didn't happen.
One by one, officers put the animals into cages and filled up a van. Still, they estimate there may be up to 30 cats on the property they couldn't capture and will have to come back for. Officers say it's one of the worst cases of animal cruelty they've seen.
Williams says there will be charges, but the severity of those charges is unknown until the investigation is complete.
Case UpdatesThe Lehigh County Humane Society won't charge an Upper Milford Township woman with animal cruelty for having 17 sick and hungry cats and dogs at her home, a cruelty investigator said Wednesday.
Instead, Ruth E. Lonsinger agreed to release the animals to the Humane Society, Art Williams said. The organization gave her that option because she was ill when the animals were seized March 9.
Lonsinger, who could not be reached for comment, agreed to give the dogs to the nonprofit, which washed, groomed and treated them, Williams said. Charges would have applied only to the 10 dogs, because ownership of the seven cats found on the property was unclear.
After being examined by veterinarians, the dogs -- seven cocker spaniels, two collie mixes and one purebred collie -- were found to have various types of health problems, including cataracts, seizure disorders and breathing problems.
They were treated by the Humane Society for their health problems and will be taken to an animal rescue, Williams said.
The cats also were checked by a veterinarian and appeared to be in reasonably good shape, Williams said. They have all been put up for adoption.
Animal cruelty investigators armed with a search warrant had entered the home at 6052 Indian Creek Road and discovered the living room floor covered with feces, urine and dog hair and the 10 dogs, all but two in cages, that appeared hungry and sick.
Lonsinger has said she'd been staying with her daughter in Harrisburg since the beginning of February because of her illness and had recently put her three-bedroom ranch home up for sale, so she had a sitter who fed and exercised her dogs every weekday. She also said she was coming home once a week.
Williams said a real estate agent tipped him off about several animals living in filthy conditions in the house. Lonsinger has said the living room was dirtied when the two dogs escaped from their cages the day before the raid. | Source: The Morning Call - March 29, 2007
Update posted on Apr 2, 2007 - 11:05PM |
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