Hoarding - 41 animals Beaufort, SC (US) Incident Date: Thursday, Sep 25, 2003 County: Beaufort Local Map: available Disposition: Not Charged Abuser names unreleased

Case ID: 1769 Classification: Neglect / Abandonment Animal: cat, dog (non pit-bull), bird (pet), other wildlife, reptile, rodent/small mammal (pet) View more cases in SC (US) Login to Watch this Case

A veterinarian who responded to a report of animal neglect at a Scotts Street home in Beaufort said the roughly 41 animals removed from the home were living in the worst conditions he had seen in 30 years.

Cats, dogs, birds, ferrets, turtles, lizards, mice, a hedgehog and a flying squirrel were brought from the home by Beaufort County Animal Control officers and city police. A strong stench emanated from the home when the door opened.

Dr. Frank Murphy, the Beaufort veterinarian, said the animals were taken from "horrible" conditions, swimming and living in their own feces and urine at the 912 Scotts St. home.

"The turtles were living in water that just wreaked of feces, and they had no way to get out of it. They were barely able to get their heads above it," Murphy said. "Some cages had a little food in it. The others didn't. The ferrets were filthy; they were all in their own feces and urine.

"The cats were horrible; they were in a six-by-six bathroom with 3 to 4 inches of feces and urine on the floor. The stench was so bad that you couldn't stay in there more than 30 to 40 seconds."

Authorities at the scene would not say to whom the animals or the home belonged. Neighbors said the person who had been living in the home died earlier this year.

The dogs, one a frisky Boston Terrier, were the first ones to be taken out the back door to cages, followed by about 15 birds, including a 2-foot-tall, blue and yellow macaw. Officers removed a total of seven turtles and five lizards.

Authorities obtained a search warrant Thursday after investigating an initial complaint by a neighborhood association, the Old Commons Neighborhood Crime Watch, said Beaufort County spokesman Pete Nardi. Animal abuse charges could be filed after an investigation, Nardi said, though it was unclear against whom the charges would be filed.

The animals all will undergo examination, Murphy said, and a court could decide the animals' fate.

"There was rat feces everywhere; it was horrible, that's the only way I can describe it," Murphy said. "I've been to some really bad cruelty cases, and I thought I'd seen it all. But in terms of how some of these animals were kept, this is about as bad as I've ever seen."

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