Hoarding - 64 animals seized
Washington Township, NJ (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Dec 21, 2004
County: Bergen
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Katherine Mingroni Fowler
A 38-year-old woman faces up to $64,000 in fines after authorities removed dozens of cats from squalor inside her Di's Court home.
Acting on a neighbor's complaint of a stench, Lt. Rafael Muniz of Washington Township Police said officers arrived at the home of 38-year-old Katherine Mingroni Fowler and forced their way inside, fearing someone had died inside the Severon development home.
"When we went out there, we saw a lot of mail that looked like it was backed up for several days. And the vehicle out front looked like it had been parked there for a long time with dirt and debris under the tires. And we found a lot of newspapers scattered.
"Officers looked inside the windows and saw numerous animals walking around the living room and the whole floor was covered with feces," Muniz said. "They could actually smell it from the outside."
Once inside, officers found 54 cats, nine dogs and a turtle milling around in garbage and an overpowering stink.
"The house was just a mess," he said. "There was feces all over the place. It was so bad that the officers needed masks to go inside."
He said one room was closed off and contained 30 cats. There were also 20 cats in the basement and the basement door was secured with several trash bags filled with animal feces.
"And there was trash, garbage and food lying all over the house," Muniz said.
Muniz said Fowler, who was not home at the time, lived in the home along with an 8-year-old son.
State Division of Youth and Family Services located the boy in school and later placed him with his grandmother, he said.
Fowler was given 10 days by the county board of health to clean up her property or face additional fines and possibly have the property sealed, Muniz said.
William A. Lombardi, director of the Gloucester County Animal Shelter, said his officers were called to the scene and removed the animals.
Lombardi said Fowler later surrendered all but one of the cats to the county animal shelter. However, she opted to place the dogs and the remaining cat in a private kennel.
The county shelter also is holding the turtle.
Lombardi said the animals were "in fairly decent condition, they weren't horrific," in terms of adequate nutrition and water.
But the living conditions, Lombardi said, were another story.
Muniz said Fowler will be charged with 64 counts of a disorderly persons offense for cruelty toward animals, one for each animal found in the house. Each count carries a possible fine ranging from $200 to $1,000.
New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Sgt. Jane Donoghue said the organization is assisting the police department, but additional charges aren't expected.
Donoghue said she visited the cats at the county shelter on Wednesday and found most in fairly good condition but flea-infested.
"She was feeding them, she just wasn't cleaning up after them," she said.
Unlike many other municipalities, Washington Township officials said they have no ordinance in effect that limits the number of pets permitted by homeowners.
Lombardi said eventually, the shelter will be seeking homes for the confiscated cats.
"That will definitely come up," he said. "But right now, nothing will be adopted because it's still pending an investigation."
The cats are being quarantined until a veterinarian can examine each individually, he said.
"We need to go through their health to make sure we're giving out a healthy animal," he said. References« NJ State Animal Cruelty Map
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