Hoarding cats and dogs Blythewood, SC (US) Incident Date: Friday, May 31, 2002 County: Richland Local Map: available Disposition: Convicted Abuser/Suspect: Marsha Lucas Teague

Case ID: 1110 Classification: Hoarding Animal: cat, dog (non pit-bull) View more cases in SC (US) Login to Watch this Case

Marsha Lucas Teague, 51, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges of ill treatment of animals and will spend 60 days in jail.  She must report to the Richland County jail every weekend until her sentence is served, said Assistant 5th Circuit Solicitor Jill Andrews.

Judge James Barber also ordered Teague, who has a previous conviction for mistreating animals, to serve three years probation. She cannot have pets during that time.

Police will inspect Teague's home to make sure she complies, Andrews said.

Teague could have been sentenced to 4 and a half years in prison or fined $15,200.

In June, she was charged with 25 counts of ill treatment of animals after police found sick cats and dogs at her home off U.S. 321 southwest of Blythewood.

Previously, she had been convicted of mistreating a dozen cats, some of which were found in her freezer.

"The good news out of this case is that two of the cats were rehabilitated," Andrews said. "The three dogs also were saved."

Humane Society investigator Steve Stephenson said he was pleased Barber ordered home inspections.

In 2001, after she was ordered to have no more than the four dogs and two cats, Stephenson said, she was in violation days later.

This time she will have to spend two years in prison if she violates the judge's order, he said.

"Sixty days doesn't seem like a lot. But the people who get jail time (for animal cruelty) are few and far between," Stephenson said.

Teague is the first person in the area to be convicted on a second offense of animal mistreatment, he said.

Nineteen of Teague's cats had to be destroyed June 19 because they had highly contagious feline leukemia, Stephenson said. Six were kittens.

The animals lived in filth and had little food or water, Stephenson said. It was unclear how many were strays or animals Teague had gotten on her own.

Almost 36 of Teague's diseased cats and kittens have been euthanized since 2001, Stephenson said

Neighborhood Map

For more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.

Back to Top

Add this case to:

Del.icio.us

|

Digg

|

Furl

|

References

The State

« SC State Animal Cruelty Map

Not sure what these icons mean? Click here.

Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.

For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.