Hoarding 18 dogs, multiple cats
Columbus, OH (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Mar 22, 2007
County: Franklin
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Lindsey L. Clouse
Case Updates: 4 update(s) available
A local animal rescue worker may be in trouble for how she treated pets at her home. Investigators said they filed charges against Lindsey Clouse for what they found at her home on North Warren Avenue.
Animal control agents said that 18 dogs and multiple cats were living in what they describe as squalor, including four dogs that were left outside.
Clouse said she is a volunteer for West Side Strays, a Columbus pet rescue agency.
Agents said they are charging Clouse with seven counts of cruelty to animals.
Residents in the area said the dogs have been a problem for months.
"The animals can't be treated good. They're locked and the owner is gone for days, sometimes, and they are locked up in there," a resident said.
Clouse is scheduled to appear in court in late April.
The Capital Area Humane Society said it is considering whether to issue a search warrant to rescue the remaining dogs inside the home.
Case UpdatesAfter Capital Area Humane Society agents saw the condition of Lindsey Clouse's home and the animals she was claiming to rescue on that March day in 2007, they had little choice but to cite her.
This was no little mess-feces and food scattered virtually from floor to ceiling. In all, she was charged with 47 animal cruelty-related charges.
She probably started out with the best of intentions, said Bill Hedrick, chief of staff of the Columbus City Attorney's office. And then it just went horribly awry.
"It appears to me it became a situation that just became overwhelming," he said.
But before the trial date for Clouse's case could even be set, Hedrick said, she disappeared. Hedrick, however, couldn't forget the scene of her home, or the condition of her animals. It offended him, as did her disappearance. He's chased her ever since, getting close enough to shut down her operations in Indianapolis. But she remains at-large.
"We like to see people like this brought to justice," said Hedrick.
Clouse, said Hedrick, probably started taking in animals because she genuinely cared for them, starting the local rescue shelter Westside Strays in 2007 at a home she likely didn't live in located at 71 N. Warren Ave.
"They get to where they have so many animals they cannot properly care for them," said Hedrick. "Particularly, in (Clouse's) case, she had a pit bull no-kill operation."
Pit bulls, said Hedrick, are not adopted out by the Humane Society or animal control in Franklin County. Hedrick believes Clouse probably knew that the likely end for the dogs of the breed would be euthanization, so she just kept taking them in, despite keeping them in cages that were covered in urine and feces.
"When people hear you're taking in animals, they just bring in more animals. And when faced with a situation where Clouse knew if she didn't take them in they would likely be put down, she probably just kept taking animals in," Hedrick said of the 18 dogs, two cats and a bird that investigators discovered in the house more than four years ago, after complaints from neighbors that the house smelled of urine and feces and that multiple dogs could be heard barking.
But Clouse, who could face up to a 18 months in jail if convicted, never had her day in court, said Hedrick. She took off instead.
And because the charges are misdemeanors, Hedrick isn't able to extradite Clouse from another state. In fact, he said, even if she were in a neighboring county in Ohio, he still couldn't bring her in. The only thing Hedrick can do, legally, is wait for Clouse to turn herself in.
"She knows what's waiting for her in Columbus, so she avoids it," said Hedrick.
But that doesn't mean he'll wait patiently.
"This is the only one I've been able to pursue because we know she crossed state lines," Hedrick said. "And then she set up the same operation in a neighboring state. It's outrageous."
After Clouse fled Columbus, Hedrick discovered via a Google search that she had opened a new shelter in Indianapolis called "Lindsey's Dogs," where she again claimed to rescue and train dogs. Her work, said Hedrick, was receiving accolades in the community and she was quickly becoming a trusted figure for animal safety and training.
"She was making herself a leader in the rescue community. She had not become overwhelmed in that community like she had here," said Hedrick. "It appeared as though she had learned from her mistakes and seemed to be operating within the standards. But still, would you want to leave your animals with someone who had charges of animal cruelty?"
Capital Area Humane Society agent Kerry Manion said hearing Clouse had opened a similar operation in a neighboring state was "alarming."
"That a person could simply move and start all over again...," he said. "Then animals become victims."
And though her Indiana operation had not reached the inhumane standards that her Columbus rescue effort had, Hedrick quickly faxed his charges to Indianapolis media, getting them to air Clouse's story. Within a few months, Hedrick's outreach successfully ran Clouse out of that town as well. But it didn't dissuade Hedrick.
"We're getting out the word and we encourage her to turn herself in," he said. "But I want to make sure that she doesn't turn around and do the same thing somewhere else when she hasn't answered to the charges here."
Hedrick recently received a tip that Clouse was in South Dakota, though it appears, for now, Clouse hasn't opened another animal rescue. Phone numbers provided for her were unanswered and messages were not returned. Hedrick said it remains unclear whether the Clouse they've identified in South Dakota is the woman they're looking for.
"It's pretty cool we were able to track her down in Indy and I think she'll think twice before opening another business like this," said Hedrick. "I check on her periodically. I keep her on my website. There's a lot of chatter among rescue groups, so it would be difficult for her to open anything. I think we've successfully shut her down."
Clouse was charged initially with six counts of animal cruelty on March 21 after Franklin County Animal Care and Control Deputy Warren Schope was dispatched to the home on calls of animal abuse. The Columbus Police were also called and Sgt. Ray Meister charged Clouse with the cruelty counts.
On March 22, a Capital Area Humane Society agent responded to the complaint and went to the Warren Avenue. home, where she met with Clouse. Clouse let the agent into the living room, where the agent noted trash, clothing and debris covering the floor.
The agent noted three dogs running loose in the home while seven were caged in the living room. Clouse said the cats were housed upstairs and the bird was in the front room. Clouse told the agent that, in total, she owned three dogs and was fostering 15, in addition to the cats and bird. Clouse would not permit the agent to explore the rest of the home. The agent left a notice with Clouse to correct the unsanitary conditions.
On March 23, the Humane Society received a call from a neighbor: Clouse had taken the animals she wanted and split. She told the neighbor to take any animals she wanted and to let the Humane Society handle the rest-which included eight pit bull puppies. Ultimately, the Humane Society removed 14 dogs and five cats from what they termed "deplorable conditions."
Manion said some of the animals were adopted out, one dog was returned to a rescue operation in Cleveland and the others...he couldn't say. Euthanization was a possibility but he said he doesn't have the computer records to confirm that.
"It was definitely a bad situation for the animals. It's just inexcusable," said Manion. "People who are rescuers should know better than to leave animals in this condition. And to walk away from these animals is unconscionable."
Manion said there are reputable animal rescues in Columbus like Cozy Cat Cottage and Columbus Dog Connection, but the problem of unreputable rescues is two-fold, said Manion. First, people are creating an over-population of animals by not having them spayed or neutered-a necessary procedure to keep the animal population under control.
"That's the primary focus to reduce the amount of unwanted animals," said Manion
Also, said Hedrick, common sense is required when deciding if you're actually able to take on a pet to begin with.
"You will get people who adopt or buy animals who are not in a position to be animal owners and then they just dump what would have been a very sellable or adoptable animal on a rescue or wherever," he said. "They need to think before they adopt animals, 'Does my lifestyle fit having animal?'"
The other problem, said Manion, is that when people find themselves in a situation with an unwanted animal, they need to ensure the animal is being dropped off to a reputable rescuer.
"If people have an animal they can no longer care for, do research and inspections to see where the animal is going to be housed," said Manion, who recommended Googling the information or directly calling the Humane Society. "And beware of anyone trying to do a rescue from their residence. Look for stand-alone shelters and rescue organizations. Make sure there's a reference and do an on-site inspection." | Source: theotherpaper.com - Sep 15, 2011
Update posted on Sep 15, 2011 - 1:59PM |
An Indianapolis pet trainer and dog rescuer is wanted in Ohio on criminal animal abuse charges.
Lindsey Clouse, 28, is charged in a 2007 case that includes 47 misdemeanors. FOX 59 News caught up with Clouse and discovered she is running the same kind of animal training and rescue business here in Indianapolis.
Columbus, Ohio prosecutor Bill Hedrick sent FOX 59 photographs from the criminal case. The photos show in great detail the deplorable conditions Clouse is accused of allowing 18 dogs to live in before she left the state.
PICTURES: Victims of Animal Abuse (Warning: Graphic)
The dogs left behind were brought in through a Central Ohio animal rescue operation called West Side Strays.
In a phone interview, Clouse told FOX 59 News Wednesday that she has never hurt an animal.
"I am not sure where that number comes from. I was aware of the warrants," Clouse said.
FOX 59 was able to easily find the Indianapolis native on the internet through Facebook, her new animal training business website in Indianapolis, and on the Columbus, Ohio prosecutor's animal cruelty "most wanted" website.
In the three years since the 18 dogs were found in squalor Clouse admits she has not returned to Ohio to answer the charges. Instead she started a new business and has begun working again with rescue organizations.
FOX 59 News found her new store front closed and disorganized in the 3500 block of East Raymond Street on Indianapolis' Southeast side.
"It's really more than I can really deal with at this time. I can't imagine what my friends will think," Clouse said.
The Ohio prosecutor isn't afraid to say what he thinks:
"She's doing all these things with animals yet she left this disaster here in Columbus for us. I'm outraged that she would leave this mess here and set up another operation in Indiana," City prosecutor Bill Hedrick said.
In late 2009 Indianapolis business owner Jeff McKinney let Clouse use his far Westside building and if it wasn't for an anonymous phone call he may have never known she was a wanted woman.
"I brought that up to her and asked her about the charges and she didn't deny them," McKinney said.
When FOX 59 News asked Clouse if she planned to return to Ohio to face the charges she said, "no." She did say that she is planning to close her Indianapolis business due to medical problems. | Source: fox59.com - Feb 10, 2010
Update posted on Apr 5, 2011 - 9:07PM |
Authorities filed eight additional animal cruelty-related charges against a Columbus woman who runs an animal rescue organization.
Lindsey Clouse now faces a total of 46 charges.
Police raided Clouse's west Columbus home two weeks ago after neighbors complained of open doors, windows and a nauseating smell.
"If the police had not come on to this scene, these poor animals in cages would have starved," said assistant city prosecutor Bill Hedrick.
Prosecutors said Clouse runs West Side Strays. | Source: 10TV - April 6, 2007
Update posted on Apr 6, 2007 - 10:06AM |
Columbus police and animal-control agents say they are filing animal-cruelty charges against Clouse, a 25-year-old woman who apparently volunteered as an animal rescuer. They are trying to determine why someone who professed to love animals kept them in what investigators called squalor.
"From what I'd heard, she did some rescue work from her house," said David Shellhouse, field supervisor for Franklin County Animal Care and Control.
When police showed up at 71 N. Warren Ave. on Wednesday night, Clouse wasn't home and was wanted on a warrant for failing to appear in court to answer to a dog-registration charge that Shellhouse's department had issued this year.
Based on what police found at the house, they said they are charging Clouse by summons with multiple counts of animal cruelty. She could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Next-door neighbor Ron Nelson said her dogs have knocked down his back fence, and the odor from her yard made him embarrassed to invite friends over. Clouse would leave the dogs in cages and disappear for days, Nelson said. "She said she tries to place the animals with people."
On Wednesday night, he called police after howling dogs pushed the screen out of an open front window; he feared they would jump out.
Police reported they could hear howling and smell urine and feces as they pulled up. They called animal-control agents. Together, they counted 18 dogs.
Four dogs outside were seized, but others were left inside because investigators couldn't enter without a warrant.
In a report, the police sergeant who was there said that Becky Shope, a deputy dog warden, knew Clouse's name because of her rescue work. Shope told police that, given the evidence in front of them, she thought "Clouse was using her position … to gain pit bull dogs, and then was breeding them at this location."
Shellhouse said his office is filing charges that include failing to license the seized dogs and failing to confine vicious dogs.
The Capital Area Humane Society is trying to determine what relationship, if any, it had with Clouse, Executive Director Jodi Buckman said. Clouse was not an employee, she said, but the agency hadn't determined whether it had placed animals with her, either directly or through an intermediary agency.
"We tend to only place animals with agencies that we have a direct relationship with … or with individuals that we trust," Buckman said.
But such reports, she said, drive home a problem humane societies face: a lack of regulation and oversight of people who declare themselves volunteer animal rescuers.
Many are sincere and reputable; others mean well but get in over their heads, Buckman said. Still others might hoard animals because of mental illness.
"We absolutely believe there should be regulations," she said. "It's a tangled web. There are a lot of individuals involved in this work." | Source: Columbus Dispatch - March 23, 2007
Update posted on Mar 23, 2007 - 10:38PM |
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