Case Details

Hoarding - 47 dogs
Waynesburg, PA (US)

Date: Jan 7, 2005
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 1 files available

Alleged:

  • Lillian Spear
  • Timothy J. Martin
  • Lois Spear

    Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
  • Case ID: 3534
    Classification: Hoarding
    Animal: rodent/small mammal (pet), dog (non pit-bull), cat
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    Police officers and animal control specialists confiscated more than 50 animals Friday that were all living in a small house on Lincoln Street.

    Three adults shared the home with 47 dogs, eight cats and at least three guinea pigs. Officers could be seen covering their faces and struggling to deal with the stench emanating from the house as they tried to collect the animals.

    "We're standing about 20 feet from the house and we can still smell it," borough Manager Jed Howard said as he assessed the situation from the sidewalk outside the structure at 9 Lincoln St.

    Howard condemned the building, and borough police officers ordered the three people living there to leave before the end of the day. Lillian Spear, 46, Timothy J. Martin, 44, and Lois Spear, 37, all face charges of animal cruelty and related offenses.

    The three rented the house off Doug Hoskins, and they have been living in the two-story home for about a month. Hoskins said he had no idea his tenants had animals, and only learned of the problem when he received a call about a week ago from the state dog warden.

    Animal control officers became familiar with the three people when they lived in Brave. Greene County Humane Society confiscated a few of their dogs while they lived there, but obviously not all. They apparently maintained a pet collection and they took most of the animals with them when they relocated to the borough.

    "They seem to be collectors," said Jane Gapen, executive director of Greene County Humane Society. Gapen referred to the syndrome in which a person accumulates more animals than he can possibly care for. On average, the humane society responds to one animal hoarding case a year, Gapen said.

    Often, the animals in a collection are malnourished and diseased. However, the dogs and cats that officers recovered from the house on Lincoln Street appeared to be relatively well-fed.

    "Yes, they were all fed. They were just living in those deplorable conditions," Gapen said.

    Gapen said that animal waste was found throughout the house. To combat the odors, officers asked to borrow breathing apparatus units from Waynesburg/Franklin Township Fire Department so they could searched the residence for animals.

    John C. Thomas, the local dog warden, officials from the humane society and borough police officers managed to recover all of the animals, with the exception of three cats, which should be captured soon. The animals are now at the humane society on Jefferson Road.

    Many of the animals will have to be euthanized. Gapen said the dogs and cats will be examined by a veterinarian and those that are healthy and friendly enough may be offered for adoption.

    The animal owners will face charges of animal cruelty, running an illegal kennel and having no licenses or rabies vaccinations on the dogs. It is against the borough's laws to own more than three pets at a time, so they also will face citations under that ordinance.

    Case Updates

    More than 50 pets that were recovered last week in a local animal hoarding case are now up for adoption.

    Jane Gapen, executive director of Greene County Humane Society, originally thought many of the 47 dogs taken Friday from a small house on Lincoln Street would have to be euthanized because of disease.

    The cats do not appear to be as healthy as their former housemates, but Gapen said they are at the shelter, too. Four cockatoo-like birds also are up for adoption at the shelter. The guinea pigs are in a shelter in Pittsburgh.

    Lillian Spear told police that she was the animals' owner, so she will face charges relating to the animal hoarding case. Gapen said she would not prosecute since the three residents cooperated and relinquished all of the animals. However, the local dog warden from the state, John C. Thomas, said he would file a misdemeanor charge against Spear for having no licenses or rabies vaccinations on the dogs.

    Those crimes are normally summary offenses, but since Spear previously pleaded guilty to those charges on an earlier case, the crimes graduated to the misdemeanor level.

    More charges may be pending.

    For more information on adopting one of these animals, or another pet from Greene County Humane Society, call the shelter at 724-627-9988.
    Source: The Observer-Reporter - Jan 13, 2005
    Update posted on Jan 13, 2005 - 12:13PM 

    References

    Observer-Reporter

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