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Case Snapshot

Case ID: 17493

Classification: Hoarding

Animal: cat, dog (non pit-bull)

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Person(s) in animal care

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Attorneys/Judges

Prosecutor(s):	Patrick Amason
Defense(s):	Doug Bates, Deborah Seagle
Judge(s):	Derek Peterson

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all 3 media files »

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CONVICTED: Was justice served?

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Case #17493 Rating: 2.4 out of 5

Over 200 animals rescued from shelter
Gordon, AL (US)

Incident Date: Monday, Feb 28, 2011
County: Houston

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 3 files available

Defendants/Suspects:
» Pam Andrews
» Mary Ann Godfrey

Case Updates: 3 update(s) available

A Houston County woman will face criminal charges after sheriff's deputies and Humane Society of the United States volunteers rescued more than 200 animals from her property Monday.

Deputies and Humane Society workers arrived at Dirty Sally's Pet Pals in rural Gordon at 7:30 a.m. Monday and found at least 180 dogs and between 40 and 50 cats living in "deplorable conditions," according to Humane Society Public Information officer Jordan Crump.

Sheriff Andy Hughes said no charges had been filed as of Monday afternoon, but "they're coming."

Dirty Sally's, which Crump said claims to be a nonprofit organization designed to offer animals for adoption, is owned and operated by Pam Andrews, 66, who was acquitted of animal cruelty charges in 1995.

"We've known about this situation for several weeks and have been working on a plan with the Humane Society of the United States," Hughes said. "They brought down numerous volunteers, a tractor trailer that can haul about 100 animals at the same time, and helped us out with this. We just had to do something, but we needed the resources to do it."

Neighbors and motorists first tipped the sheriff's department to the problem, and the Humane Society was contacted shortly thereafter.

Crump said the scene was clearly one of neglect.

"You could see the animals from the street," she said. "It's very ramshackled, kind of a broken-down property and very overgrown. There are a lot of dogs chained to trees, many dogs kept in big, muddy, feces-filled pens, and it's a really large property, about 22 acres. There are dogs everywhere you look. Dogs sitting in empty cages, chained to trees, and it's really kind of a weird scene. It doesn't look very good at all."

Crump said some of the animals are suffering from skin ailments like mange, while others are malnourished and some have untreated wounds.

United Animal Nations, a California-based nonprofit organization, is operating a temporary shelter at the National Peanut Festival fairgrounds, and the Humane Society is transporting the animals in groups to the shelter for evaluations from multiple veterinarians.

Crump said the number of animals transported could end up being more than 250.

"There were about 180 dogs just outside, and we haven't been into the homes yet," she said. "There's a home and several trailers on the property. This is definitely on the higher end of cases we've had. That's a large-scale boarding situation. I'm not sure we've done anything bigger than that in recent years in Alabama."

Hughes said he's never been involved in an animal case as widespread as this one.

"This is not something we usually see on this magnitude," he said. "We couldn't just go down and say, 'We're taking these dogs,' because we had no resources to handle that type of situation. We want to do it as humanely as possible and get the animals evaluated."

The animals will be housed at the fairgrounds for the next few days, receiving any veterinary care or immunizations they require, after which they'll be transported to various shelters.

Crump said most of the animals are adoptable once their ailments are treated.

Case Updates

References

• « AL State Animal Cruelty Map
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