Hoarding 60 cats, 22 wild animals, more
Marsing, ID (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Apr 23, 2008
County: Owyhee
Disposition: Not Charged
Person of Interest: Sandy Knox
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
More than 20 wild animals were removed from a woman's home in Owyhee County on Wednesday after officials said public safety became a problem.
Owyhee County Sheriff Gary Aman said officials removed 17 wolves and five bobcats from the residence of Sandy Knox. The project was several months in the making and took volunteers and responding agencies around 10 hours.
Aman said Knox, 74, has owned the animals for about 14 years. But due to her declining health, she can no longer properly care for them and decided to give them up.
"I imagine this was horribly traumatic for her," Owyhee County Sgt. Gary Olsen said. "She's not an evil person or anything; she loves them."
Though Knox has legal permits for the wolves and bobcats, the animals were being held in worsening living conditions that were creating a problem for the community and the animals, Aman said.
"The conditions were degrading rapidly. The animals were healthy, but in another month they wouldn't have been," Aman said.
Rather than charging Knox with cruelty to animals, Aman said officials sought a solution to the problem that would help everyone.
"A lady of her age and health - I don't want to put her in the criminal justice system, but I also want to keep the community safe. This is a win-win situation for everybody, including the animals," he said.
Aside from the 22 animals removed Wednesday, Aman said Knox still has several animals on her property, including at least five hybrid dogs (part dog, part wolf), numerous domestic dogs, more than 60 cats, a goose and a few chickens. Aman said officials are still working out a solution for those animals, which remain in the bad conditions.
Aman said officials allowed Knox to keep four animals - two wolves and two bobcats - which are "getting aged."
Taking a few animals at a time, the wolves and bobcats were tranquilized and transported from Knox's home to the fire station about a mile away. There, medics from numerous agencies gathered to give the animals medical exams, vaccinations and blood tests. Officials planned on sending the wolves late Wednesday to wildlife shelters in Winchester, Idaho, and Florida while the bobcats will be relocated to a refuge in Nevada or Utah, Aman said.
This isn't the first time Knox's wolves have made headlines. Just in November, Aman said one of the wolves escaped Knox's residence, then killed a few domestic animals and was seen hovering near children boarding a school bus. Since that incident, law enforcement has been working with Knox "trying to get some satisfactory result," Aman said.
Knox would not speak to the press, Aman said, as this was a difficult decision for her.
"This is really bothering her, she really doesn't want to do this ... we're respecting her wishes," he said.
Those involved in removing the animals are the Owyhee County Sheriff's Office, Idaho Fish and Game, United States Department of Agriculture and the Idaho Humane Society. Several individual volunteers also helped rescue the animals.
"The local quick response came out, we're using the fire shed, and a lot of volunteers helped out. It's been a very good effort by everybody," Aman said.
Case UpdatesA Marsing, Idaho-area woman made a deal with authorities to relinquish 17 wolves, five bobcats, about 60 cats and an unknown number of dogs to avoid criminal charges of animal cruelty after she was accused of keeping them in deplorable living conditions.
Some of the animals are headed to facilities in other states.
Sandy Knox, whom authorities said is in her mid-70s, said she got her first wolf about 20 years ago.
"I love wild animals because they aren't mean or ornery like people," she said. "They just love you." As part of the bargain, Knox got to keep two bobcats and two wolves, which she named Tensquatawa and Matorca.
Authorities said her health is failing, and she was unable to properly care for such a large menagerie.
About 20 people, including authorities from Owyhee County, the Idaho Humane Society, Idaho Fish and Game and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, went to Knox's home Wednesday morning after four months of negotiations with her.
They sedated the wild animals, then delivered them by pickup truck to a garage that serves as the Murphy, Idaho, fire house. There, the animals were examined by veterinarians from four agencies and had identification microchips inserted beneath their skin.
Problems arose for Knox in October when one wolf escaped his pen and killed livestock in the area, Owyhee County Sheriff Gary Aman said.
For days, sheriff's deputies followed the local school bus because neighbors reported seeing the wolf lying in a ditch near a bus stop. The deputies eventually spotted and shot the wolf.
"If this were just dogs and cats, this would be a very low priority," Aman said. "But wolves and bobcats are a real threat to the community." Aman said the animals were in good health, but the outcome might have been different in two or three weeks. The animals' pens were deteriorating, making feeding progressively more difficult for Knox, and increasing the risk of another animal escape.
Aman said his office will continue to monitor conditions at the Knox home to ensure the remaining animals are properly cared for.
"The owner considers these animals more than pets. She calls them her children," said Aman, who said he admires her for willingly giving them up. "It took a lot for her to admit that she can no longer care for them." Some of the animals _ dogs and cats _ were taken to the Humane Society in Boise, Idaho.
Five wolves are being sent to the Wolf Education and Research Center in Winchester, Idaho; 12 wolves are headed to the Big Oak Wolf Sanctuary in Greencove Springs, Fla., Aman said. The bobcats will be kept at a facility in Utah.
Owyhee County and Idaho have rules on keeping wild and exotic pets. The county requires annual registration; the state also requires special permits.
Jeff Rosenthal, Idaho Humane Society executive director, said he supports increased regulation of wildlife and exotic animal facilities and recommends that counties ban private ownership of dangerous or exotic animals.
"While there is no shortage of individuals who desire to own animals, such as wolves and exotic cats, there are very few who are both knowledgeable and properly equipped to do so," he said. "As a result, tragic cases of neglect and suffering of captive wildlife and exotic animals are all too common." | Source: McClatchy-Tribune News - May 3, 2008
Update posted on May 4, 2008 - 2:53PM |
References
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