85 animals seized - Hinckley, OH

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

County: Medina

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Name Undisclosed

Charges are pending against a Hinckley resident after members of the Medina County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals volunteer rescue team took 85 animals from the home May 24.

"We arrived at 10:30 a.m. and the property owner knew we were coming," said Medina County SPCA Executive Director Stephanie Moore, noting that the organization was not at liberty to release the name of the property owner, nor the address until a criminal investigation is complete. "It was an all day job."

Moore, SPCA humane officer Mary Jo Johnson, and six volunteers went to the location after receiving an anonymous e-mail indicating that animal hoarding might be taking place.

"Mostly we found dogs, there were a handful of cats, two horses, four sheep, two pot-bellied pigs and numerous chickens, roosters and waterfowl," Moore said. "At least they weren't all in the same building like the last case we responded to."

Moore said the entire property was encased in a fence, with some of the animals roaming freely on the property and others in kennels and other outbuildings. The animals themselves were in "various stages of medical need," Moore said.

"All the livestock was evaluated by a livestock veterinarian yesterday afternoon," she said. "We do have a couple, I understand, that could be critical. And there were three other animals we felt needed immediate medical attention."

Two area veterinarians are scheduled to come to the SPCA today, Moore said, to perform more thorough evaluations of all the animals.

"There is one dog with a definite hip problem, all of the animals have horrible dental disease, the cats all have upper respiratory disease and none are spayed or neutered so we don't know if there may be pregnancies," she said.

What comes next

Moore said the long-term goal is to do what is best for the animals within the constraints of the SPCA's resources.

"A lot of people assume we are part of the SPCA you see on TV," Moore said. "That is the big one in New York -- we are an independent 501(c)3 group. When something like this happens, it really taxes our resources."

She said the SPCA is accepting monetary donations through its website at
In fact, the property in Hinckley, Moore said, was perceived by some to be an animal rescue.

"Anyone can say they are a rescue and hang that shingle out," she said. "Then begin hoarding."

Uncovering the bigger issue

Hoarding in general, and animal hoarding in particular, is not a new or growing phenomenon, Moore said.

"It's a problem that has been swept under the rug for a number of years," she said. "It can be a huge family embarrassment and it separates families. What you see on TV is exactly what we encounter."

Moore said that often the "mental disconnect" happens to people who set out to rescue animals but become overwhelmed and overrun.

"We have had three major cases since last November," Moore said. "The one in Gloria Glens in Chippewa Feb. 12 where there were more than 119 dogs and some other significant issues besides hoarding, and Mary Ann Maslanka out on Westfield Road who went to jail for hoarding 77 animals -- a case where animal cruelty was very obvious, and now this incident in Hinckley."

References

« OH State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Medina County, OH

Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.

For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.