Hoarding - 37 dogs seized Danville, VA (US) Incident Date: Friday, Mar 14, 2003 County: Danville City Local Map: available Disposition: Convicted Abuser/Suspect: Geneva Grimes

Case ID: 1095 Classification: Hoarding Animal: dog (non pit-bull) View more cases in VA (US) Login to Watch this Case

Danville General District Court Judge Lee Stilwell ruled on March 21 that 37 dogs seized from a Sunnyside Avenue home on March 14 will remain in the custody of the Danville Humane Society, and ordered that the dogs' owner, Geneva Grimes, must never again own a companion animal.

Police and humane investigators initially visited Grimes' home on March 4, responding to neighbors' complaints of a strong stench coming from the property. At that time, Grimes refused to allow authorities into her home, and claimed to own just four dogs, Dean said.

Danville police officer Jerry Riggins said the 37 dogs were confined in an 8-by-10 kitchen, and many of the animals were on tables and appliances in an effort to "get a little space." According to Riggins, even though he was wearing a hazardous materials suit and mask, the smell was "overpowering."

Officers initially thought the house had a dirt floor. But upon further inspection, they realized "it was not a dirt floor. It was a floor with 6-8 inches of (petrified) dog feces on it," Riggins said. According to Danville Humane Society Director Paulette Dean, 6,000 pounds of dog feces were removed from the home by city workers.

One of the dogs escaped during the seizure and bit a Danville police officer. The officer is currently undergoing rabies treatments, and the animal has not been recovered.

Riggins and Dean testified they saw no dog food in the home, and only a half-bucket of water for the 37 animals. The dogs had apparently spent their entire lives in the room with no outdoor exercise. Grimes said the dogs were afraid to go outside. Dean said the dogs are suffering from a variety of health problems, and most are thin or emaciated.

Most of the animals have a skin disease - contact dermatitis - which is caused by contact with feces, Dean said. The infection had reached the second layer of skin on most of the dogs.

"All the male dogs have infected scrotums from living in the waste," Dean testified.

All the dogs have infected paws from the constant contact with feces", Dean said. She said that one dog has a baseball-sized tumor hanging down from its neck. When shown a photo of the dog with the large tumor hanging from its neck, Grimes said she thought it was a boil.

"Most of them are losing hair," Dean said. "They have wounds on their back from bacteria and from fighting with each other."

Danville Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Robert Adams questioned Grimes about the dogs' living conditions, and showed her photos taken at the scene the day the dogs were seized.

"That room is big," Grimes said in her defense. "There's two windows. There's two doors. That room is cleaned every night."  Grimes claimed the animals had "plenty of room to walk" and said they were not confined. She said the kitchen floor was cement, not filled with animal feces, and said the dogs were cleaned every morning, despite being shown photos that revealed the dogs were filthy and infected.

"They were fed, they were watered and they were loved," Grimes repeated several times.

She said the reason the dogs did not go outside was because rocks, cans, bottles and knives had been thrown at them. Grimes said the dogs had never received veterinary care or the rabies shots required by law because they were afraid.

Stilwell granted Adams' request that the dogs become custody of the humane society and Grimes be barred from ever owning another dog.

Stilwell also ordered Grimes to immediately contact animal control should the escaped dog return to her home so it can be examined by a veterinarian to determine if there are any further safety concerns for the officer who was bitten by the animal. Violation of that order would constitute contempt of court, Stilwell said.

In addition, Stilwell ordered Grimes to pay for the animals' care while they are in the custody of the animal shelter. After the hearing, Grimes said she was prepared for the judgment.

"God's seen all. God knows all. And he knows how (the dogs) were treated," Grimes said. "If this is God's will, what's gonna be is gonna be." When asked if she thought what she had done was wrong, Grimes adamantly defended her actions.

"Heavens sake, no (I didn't do anything wrong). Anyone that knows me knows I wouldn't hurt a flea."

Cecil Grimes, who shares the Sunnyside Avenue home with his sister, also defended her actions. "I didn't see a thing in the world wrong with them dogs," he said.

Only two of the dogs are adoptable, Dean said, and the rest are too aggressive and have lost many of their canine instincts from living in the cramped conditions. "As the vet said yesterday, you can look into their eyes and tell that they're not there," Dean said.

The rest of the animals will be held for a 10-day appeal period, and then most likely will be euthanized.

Twenty-six of the dogs have been living at the Danville animal shelter, while the other 10 have been taken to the Pittsylvania County shelter.

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