Case DetailsHoarding - dogs, cats, goats, pig and more
Sanbornton, NH (US)Incident Date: Sunday, Sep 30, 2007
County: Belknap
Local Map: available
Disposition: Not Charged
Case Images: 1 files available
Person of Interest: Eileen Morey
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available |
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| | Case ID: 12382 | | | Classification: Hoarding | | | Animal: cat, dog (non pit-bull), bird (pet), pig, sheep, other farm animal, chicken, bird (other farmed), goat | | | View more cases in NH (US) |
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It was a neighbor's complaint about a noisy chicken that brought police Chief Mark Barton to 439 Lower Bay Road on Tuesday, but a glimpse into the home's barn told him the problem was more serious.
"I saw a donkey, a burro, five or six goats, some geese and a potbellied pig in there. There was no light, not even natural light, and most were in pretty bad condition," Barton said.
When he told their owner, Eileen Morey, that he wasn't happy with the situation, he heard dogs barking in her house and asked if he could see them.
She agreed, but Barton could not bring himself to go past the front door.
"I opened the door and the stench hit me. That's when I knew this was a really bad situation," said Barton, who called the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Penacook and the town health officer, Bill Tobin.
The SPCA responded within 90 minutes. SPCA investigators and Tobin found 14 dogs and six birds, five cockatiels and one parakeet, as well as numerous cats, inside the house.
Kim Adams of the SPCA said the sheep hadn't been sheared for at least three years and their coats were so heavy their body weight was nearly doubled. The potbellied pig's feet had never been trimmed and the donkey had eye and foot problems, she said.
The sheep were so weighed down by their fleece they could barely move.
"They'd run a little bit and just flop out of exhaustion," she said.
The smaller animals were also in poor condition.
"Most of the cats were in really tough shape and the dogs were flea-infested and coated with feces,'' Adams said.
Five pug-cockapoo puppies whose eyes weren't yet open were left with their mother and investigators returned with police on Wednesday with warrants for animal neglect. They were accompanied by State Veterinarian Stephen Crawford, who came to evaluate the large animals.
Morey agreed to surrender the animals. The investigators and police wore face masks and haz-mat suits as they rounded up the animals and moved them to waiting vans, capturing the 14 cats. Many were feral and had to be euthanized later, Adams said.
"I think she realized she couldn't handle it, that she was in over her head, and that's why she surrendered the animals,'' Adams said of Morey, who is in her early 60s.
The hooved animals were moved to a nearby farm and the sheep were sheared yesterday by Jay Mariacher of Lee. Adams said SPCA investigators will continue to monitor the situation. The SPCA is still looking for a farrier to take care of the potbellied pig's hooves.
"It was an extremely messy situation and we're really concerned for her health as well as the well-being of the animals,'' Barton said of Morey.
He said Morey was allowed to keep one dog, Molly, her favorite, and pygmy goats, ducks and chickens, all of whom can forage for themselves.
"She was really attached to her dog. We thought she should have something to hold onto. Now we're going to try and see what we can do to help her and help her get back on her feet. Maybe she didn't know how to ask for help with her situation or maybe it was just her pride. She was caught up in this and I don't think she knew how to deal with it,'' Barton said.
He said that Morey has been given 30 days to clean up her home and make it livable. The town's welfare office is hopeful that friends and neighbors will pitch in to help her out. Barton said he will be returning in 10 days to check on her progress.
No charges have yet been filed according to Barton, who said the investigation into the animal neglect complaints is ongoing. Case UpdatesA Sanbornton woman who forfeited more than three dozen animals to police, the state and animal rescue workers earlier this month was charged with four counts of animal cruelty, according to the police. Eileen Morey of Lower Bay Road could be fined up to $1,000 on each count if she is found guilty.
Animal rescuers described the condition of livestock taken from Morey's farm. An adopted burro had to be killed because its feet and hooves were badly infected. It was unable to eat, as its teeth had overgrown in a way that prevented it from chewing. The two unshorn sheep each carried more than 40 pounds of wool, three to four times beyond what is healthy. The pot-bellied pig's hooves had never been clipped and had grown to about six inches.
"She does have to answer for it somehow," said Sanbornton police Chief Mark Barton, who said that the charges were based on these four most severe cases, as identified by a report from the state veterinarian.
Morey said that she felt singled out by the Sanbornton police department and that she was hiring an attorney. She said that the people who called the police and Barton himself did not know about farming and assumed that animals had to be as perfectly groomed as they were at the Deerfield Fair.
"This is country life," she said. "As far as I know, we are still zoned agriculture."
She admitted to having been "lax on a few things," but denied that she was ever cruel to her animals.
Barton said that Morey took in more animals than she could properly care for. In addition to the livestock, authorities seized more than a dozen cats and as many dogs, many of whom were anemic from fleas and living in their own feces, according to rescuers.
"She was beyond her means," Barton said. "We are working with her to try to help her out, and to get her whatever assistance she needs."
Morey said that she did have financial problems but that they were temporary.
"It's not that I am a pauper," she said. "I am on the border because of the economy."
When the police and the state veterinarian came to her house, she said, she volunteered to give up her animals. Now she wishes she kept them, she said, and that she could have used the meat from the sheep and pig this winter. She said that five newborn puppies she had been raising could have brought her up to $2,000 in income if they had not been confiscated.
"Live free or die. I think that should be taken off our plate," she said. "If somebody had a problem with how I was treating my animals, I wish that person had come in and talked to me."
Morey is due for arraignment at the Franklin District Court on Nov. 12. | Source: Concorn Monitor - Oct 17, 2007
Update posted on Oct 18, 2007 - 10:19AM |
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