Hoarding - 82 dogs seized from two-bedroom home
Mobile, AL (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009
County: Mobile
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Ouida Curtis
» Robert Dees
Case Updates: 3 update(s) available
A Mobile man and woman arrested Wednesday had every right to keep 82 dogs inside their home, police said Thursday, but the "deplorable" conditions prompted cruelty charges.
Mobile Animal Shelter Assistant Director Jackie Wells said that as animal control officers walked through the home on Sans Souci Road on Wednesday night, they found urine stains on the walls and floor, feces piled atop newspapers and at least one shovel used to scoop up the mess and pitch it outside.
Earlier reports had indicated 91 dogs were removed from the home, but animal shelter Director Ellen Lurson said Thursday that the total was 82.
A Press-Register reporter who knocked on the couple's front door Thursday saw at least three dozen flies fluttering past the door's window pane. A spare tire, gasoline tank and boxes of clothes and other items sat on the front porch of the home at 2377 Sans Souci Road.
Ouida Curtis, 52, and Robert Dees, 53, have each been charged with animal cruelty, as well as two counts of tampering with the availability of electricity and water after officers found cables rigged to the home that were used to illegally siphon power, said police spokeswoman Officer Jacqueline Bridgeforth.
The city does not have any laws limiting the number of dogs a person can have, Bridgeforth said.
An animal control officer doing a routine sweep reported a suspicious, strong smell coming from the house to police Wednesday night, Wells said.
A next-door neighbor, Carolyn Bryson, told a reporter that it "smelled like sewer. Real bad sewer. I didn't realize it was coming from across the street."
Lurson said Thursday, "We had no idea she (Curtis) had so many dogs."
None of the animals were licensed and none had the proper rabies paperwork, she said. "We don't know what vet care, if any, they've had," she said.
A veterinarian who came to the Mobile Animal Shelter on Wednesday night did an initial evaluation on the dogs and found them to be healthy, Lurson said. On Thursday, a veterinarian who was testing the animals for heartworm said that the first five he tested were negative.
Shelter employees had to divide several cages, cutting their space in half, to accommodate the dogs, Lurson said. The shelter was at capacity, with 265 animals total, when it took in the dogs in Wednesday. The shelter will need an extra 100 pounds of food each day to feed the dogs, she said.
Other animal rescue organizations, including the Mobile SPCA, Mobile County Animal Shelter, Animal Rescue Foundation and Friends of the Mobile Animal Shelter, have taken as many as 50 of the animals, Lurson said.
None of the dogs will be euthanized as long as they are healthy, Lurson said. The Mobile Animal Shelter adopted a "no healthy deaths" policy in October, she said.
The dogs seemed happy enough Thursday, as they yapped from behind the gates of their cages at the employees and veterinarian who stood nearby. Lurson said that although none of the dogs have been leash-trained, she is hopeful they will be adopted.
At least three had found new homes by Thursday afternoon.
Curtis had to sign a release to let the shelter take the dogs Wednesday night, "and it just broke her heart," Wells said. "I think she just wanted to keep them safe, close to her at all times. It felt right to her.
"But when I explained that they would be taken care of and they would go to good homes, she realized it was the best thing for them to come here and get care," Wells said.
Curtis carried out each of the dogs, one by one, to cage trucks and kissed them before passing them to an animal control officer, Wells said. Only when she was too tired to carry them did Curtis ask for officers' help, Wells said.
Curtis was released from the Mobile County Metro Jail on Thursday after making $9,000 bail, while Dees remained booked Thursday evening on $9,000 bail.
Case UpdatesMobile's animal shelter is trying to find homes for many of the 82 dogs confiscated March 25 in an animal cruelty investigation.
Jackie Wells, assistant director of the City of Mobile Animal Shelter, says there are about 36 dogs in the group still available for adoption.
She said PetSmart Charities is assisting the shelter in providing a free veterinarian's check and age-appropriate vaccines. The dogs also will be spayed or neutered at no charge to the adopter.
Wells says officials from Shelby and Jackson counties are coming to Mobile on Thursday to take some of the dogs, which were taken from a man and a woman who were later charged with animal cruelty. | Source: WHNT - April 8, 2009
Update posted on Apr 8, 2009 - 9:48AM |
A Mobile man and woman arrested Wednesday had every right to keep 82 dogs inside their home, police say, but the "deplorable" conditions prompted cruelty charges.
Mobile Animal Shelter Assistant Director Jackie Wells said that as animal control officers walked through the home on Sans Souci Road on Wednesday night, they found urine stains on the walls and floor, feces piled atop newspapers and at least one shovel used to scoop up the mess and pitch it outside.
Earlier reports had indicated 91 dogs were removed from the home, but animal shelter Director Ellen Lurson said Thursday that the total was 82.
A Press-Register reporter who knocked on the couple's front door Thursday saw at least three dozen flies fluttering past the door's window pane. A spare tire, gasoline tank and boxes of clothes and other items sat on the front porch of the home at 2377 Sans Souci Road.
Ouida Curtis, 52, and Robert Dees, 53, have each been charged with animal cruelty, as well as two counts of tampering with the availability of electricity and water after officers found cables rigged to the home that were used to illegally siphon power, said police spokeswoman Officer Jacqueline Bridgeforth.
The city does not have any laws limiting the number of dogs a person can have, Bridgeforth said.
An animal control officer doing a routine sweep reported a suspicious, strong smell coming from the house to police Wednesday night, Wells said.
A next-door neighbor, Carolyn Bryson, told a reporter that it "smelled like sewer. Real bad sewer. I didn't realize it was coming from across the street." | Source: Press-Register - March 27, 2009
Update posted on Apr 5, 2009 - 5:37PM |
The newly opened Mobile City Animal Shelter received a huge shipment of puppies and dogs Wednesday night. That's because a couple had over 80 canines in their two-bedroom home.
The city shelter took in 38 of the 82 dogs found in Robert Dees and Ouida Curtis' home on Sans Souci Road. The county shelter took in over 40 dogs to help out the city.
It took four truckloads and several hours to get the dogs out of the home.
Also, every one of the dogs were in good health. Officials at the city shelter were surprised at how well-taken care of the animals were.
The animals were discovered when the city conducted a "street sweep". That's when they go door-to-door checking on pet's conditions and making sure animals are up to date on shots.
Dees and Curtis have been charged with animal cruelty. They're also facing charges for stealing water and electricity.
Some of the dogs have already been adopted out. | Source: Fox 10 - March 26, 2009
Update posted on Apr 5, 2009 - 5:36PM |
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