Hoarding - 21 animals in hotel room
Salinas, CA (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Mar 21, 2007
County: Santa Cruz

Disposition: Alleged

Abuser names unreleased

County animal control investigators said they rescued over 25 neglected pets from a family's hotel rooms on March 21.

Police said they found a starving cat, a rabbit and a total of 20 birds -- both dead and alive -- living among filth.

Workers said the family had been living at the hotel for over two years, and may have been hoarding animals for the entire time.

Animal officers said this is one of the worst cases they've seen.

"The room was completely filthy. It smelled like rotting feces, just like rotting food. It was hard to breathe, all windows were shut, there was no light in there," said an officer on the scene.

Officers also said the family had kept their dead pets in the freezer, like typical animal hoarders.

The county confiscated all of the underfed neglected animals and administered medical care to those that needed it.

References

• KSBW - March 21, 2007
• Fresno Bee - March 21, 2007

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