Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Hoarding, failure to provide vet care

Hoarding, failure to provide vet care
Buckingham, FL (US)

Incident Date: Monday, Jan 29, 2007
County: Lee
Local Map: available
Disposition: Convicted

Abuser/Suspect: Sheila Kuykendall

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

Case ID: 11327

Classification: Hoarding, Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: cat

View more cases in FL (US)

Suspect was in animal welfare field

Sheila Kuykendall has 80 cats and 17 dogs on 5 1/2 acres in Buckingham. She says she's helping these animals.

Lee County says she's cruel to them because she's hoarding them in unsafe and unclean conditions.

"A hoarder? No. 1, those people don't adopt them out," said Kuykendall, who is expected to go to trial today on animal cruelty charges. "No. 2, they hide them. We don't hide them from anybody. All my animals are licensed and vaccinated."

Kuykendall's case underscores the difficulty animal hoarding investigations present as the government tries to stem what it suspects is an increase in these incidences.

The extent of the problem is difficult to gauge, said Ria Brown, a spokeswoman for Lee County Animal Services.

"We've had an increase in reports, but they are often difficult to document because the offenders aren't very cooperative."

Animal hoarding is a national problem, said Kim Intino, director of animal sheltering issues for the Humane Society of the United States.

"We're seeing reports crop up daily all across the country," she said. "Either the problem has gotten worse or we're getting better at reporting it. I suspect it's a combination of the two."

In Lee County, there are eight current investigations into suspected animal hoarding, said Lance Raiche, field operations manager for the county's animal services.

Kuykendall insists she runs a legitimate service that tries to find homes for unwanted pets, Wishbone Animal Rescue. She says she has a $15,000 outstanding veterinary bill at a Cape Coral clinic as proof that she cares for her animals.

Case Updates

Sheila Kuykendall, founder of Wishbone Animal Rescue, was found guilty of animal cruelty on July 3, 2007 in a Lee County Court and fined $200. The allegation of animal cruelty was reported through local veterinarians to Animal Services.

The charge stemmed from Kuykendall�s explicit decision to refuse necessary medical care and ignore the professional medical advice offered by the Emergency Veterinary Clinic on January 29, 2007, when she brought in an injured cat in her care. Kuykendall was advised that the cat needed immediate emergency surgery or would have to be humanely euthanized as it was suffering and would inevitably die without proper veterinary treatment. The cat, which was attacked by one of Kuykendall�s dogs, died during the night after her refusal to follow the medical advice.

Lee County Animal Services has been dealing with a growing number of ongoing complaints against Sheila Kuykendall and Wishbone Animal Rescue since 2004. Reports indicate numerous cats and dogs running at large, threatening and menacing behavior from her dogs, and her cats killing a neighbor�s chickens. Additionally, there have been reports of poor living conditions with nuisance waste accumulation and other related concerns. Despite neighbors� attempts to resolve issues and animals frequently impounded by or brought into Animal Services, the situation has not improved. Records indicate that the animals in Kuykendall�s care have been a repeated nuisance to her neighbors at both her current and previous locations.

In a related note, recently there was another report of a pot-bellied pig being severely injured by a dog in Kuykendall�s care, but there is no indication if the dog is the same dog that attacked the cat. The information in that incident is under review, but no charges are expected to be filed.

Wishbone Animal Rescue currently lists over 100 animals on its website, and notes that they �have many more pets that are not currently listed.� Lee County Animal Services encourages and works with legitimate animal rescue agencies but strongly advises citizens to do their homework before they adopt any animal. Many great animal rescues are intermixed with some very problematic ones. Reputable rescues are those organizations that work within the law and limit their animals to the number for which they are able to provide adequate care and housing. Failure to do so ultimately creates situations that are dangerous to both the public and the pets in their care. Always ask to see where the animals are kept, ask if they are spayed/neutered, and request any medical information from the adopting agency.

For more information about reporting animal cruelty, adopting a pet, or to view pets for adoption, visit Animal Services website at www.LeeLostPets.com or visit the shelter. Lee County Animal Services is located at 5600 Banner Drive in Fort Myers.

Source: Lee County Animal Services Press Release - July 11, 2007
Update posted on Jul 17, 2007 - 12:34AM

Back to Top

A supposed animal hoarder's day in court was postponed Tuesday after the state attorney's office reversed course and decided to continue a prosecution on animal cruelty charges.

Sheila Kuykendall said she was told Monday the charges against her would be dropped. That changed Tuesday, sparking a protest from Kuykendall and her attorney.

Kuykendall said she has 80 cats and kittens and 17 dogs and pups on her 51�2-acre property in Buckingham, but she denies being an animal hoarder. She said she runs an animal rescue and adoption service, Wishbone Animal Rescue.

The cruelty charges stem from the death of a cat in her care, she and county animal services investigators said. A dog bit the cat on Jan. 29, causing fatal injuries.

The prosecution alleges Kuy-kendall failed to get proper veterinary care for the injured animal, said Andrea Jones, the county animal services investigator assigned the case.

Kuykendall denies those allegations and said county officials are upset because she would not agree to a $2,200 procedure for the cat or to euthanize it.

"I took care of (the cat) that night, and she died as I was taking her to my vet the next day," she said.

In a hearing before County Court Judge John Dommerich, assistant public defender Karl Kuras asked for dismissal of the charges, arguing he had been told that would happen Tuesday.

After Jones met with assistant state attorney Danielle Zemola, a decision was made to pursue the charges.

"The assistant state attorney reviewed the file at our request and decided we should move forward," Jones said. "I hadn't heard about the decision to drop the case until I got here today."

The case has been continued until July 3.

Source: News-Press - April 25, 2007
Update posted on Apr 27, 2007 - 3:31AM

Back to Top

Neighborhood Map

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

Add this case to:

Del.icio.us

Digg

Furl

References

News-Press - April 24, 2007

« FL 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.

Site Map ¤ Disclaimer ¤ Privacy Policy

Hoarding, failure to provide vet careBuckingham, FL (US)

Case Updates

Neighborhood Map

References

Hoarding, failure to provide vet care
Buckingham, FL (US)