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Case #4434 Rating: 3.3 out of 5
Hoarding - 22 cats, 1 dog seized, cats found dead
Bensalem, PA (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Apr 20, 2005
County: Bucks
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 1 files available
Defendants/Suspects:
» Blanche Jones
» Carol Dewey
Case Updates: 4 update(s) available
Blanche Jones, 87, and her daughter Carol Dewey, 61, called themselves "Precious Paws," a cat rescue that accepted charitable donations and had a table at local cat shows. The Bucks County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said the Bensalem women were neither a rescue nor a charity.
Instead of holding cats for good homes, they hoarded them for themselves, the organization's director said on April 20, after a search of Jones' home in Bensalem and a township apartment she shared with her daughter.
SPCA staffers found at least 10 dead cats and bagged animal remains at 1750 Hollins Road and 22 live cats and a dog inside 150 Cypress Court, an apartment at Korman Suites at Village Square.
Living conditions at both addresses were unhealthy for woman or beast, Bucks SPCA director Anne Irwin said.
Animal cruelty charges are likely, she said.
"This is a slap in the face to genuine rescue organizations," she said.
At the Hollins Road house, dead cats were found in carriers and bagged animal remains were found in the back yard. From the ammonia-rich confines of the apartment, the masked SPCA staffers found each of the 23 live animals in a pet carrier lined with yellowed and browned newsprint.
The smell from so much animal waste permeated not only the staffers' clothes but also the paper search warrant that accompanied them.
When neighbor Jennifer Smith turned up the heat in her apartment, she'd smell a litter box.
"I was constantly taking out the trash because I thought it was coming from my place," Smith said Wednesday as the Bucks SPCA searched the Jones-Dewey apartment below her residence.
Irwin called the mother and daughter "classic animal hoarders," noting that Wednesday's searches marked the third time the SPCA has taken pets away from Jones and Dewey, who have two prior convictions for animal cruelty, both summary offenses. A third conviction would be upgraded to a misdemeanor crime under a law passed in December.
"One of the certain hallmarks of hoarders is that they lose the ability to see when their own living conditions and the living conditions of the animals have deteriorated," Irwin said.
She said the SPCA would house the animals for the duration of its investigation, or until a judge says the animals can be put up for adoption. Each pet also will receive a veterinary examination.
"We got people who want to provide homes for these animals," Irwin said. "There's no clock [ticking] on these cats."
Dewey said Wednesday that the SPCA has "harassed" her and her mother for the past 20 years.
Except for three the women owned, the cats that were seized by the SPCA were going to be adopted through a third party, Dewey said.
"Why did they do this? Because [Irwin] hates us," she said.
Case UpdatesWith stacks of vile-smelling cat cages ready to be used against them, two Bensalem women struck deals with the prosecution on April 3, 2006 and pleaded no contest to animal cruelty charges in Bucks County court in Doylestown.
Blanche Jones, 88, and Carol Dewey, 62, each were sentenced to two years of probation for hoarding 22 cats in their filth-strewn Cypress Court apartment. Under the terms of a plea bargain, the mother and daughter won't be allowed to own any animals during their probation and must undergo mental health evaluations. The cats seized from Jones and Dewey a year ago now will be put up for adoption. The county SPCA has agreed not to euthanize any of the animals, no matter how long it takes to find them homes.
"When we take animals from an awful condition like this and care for them over a period of time, we feel an obligation to give them a chance at a happy life," said Anne Irwin, executive director Bucks County SPCA.
Dewey's lawyer, Keith Bidlingmaier, said his client agreed to the plea because she wanted the best for the animals. "Their main concern was the cats. They never intended to harm them, in any way. They were just overwhelmed," he said. In a no contest plea, a defendant doesn't admit guilt, but offers no defense. It carries the same weight as a guilty plea at sentencing. The plea halted what was expected to be a foul-smelling trial. Prosecutors were poised to show the jury more than a dozen urine- and feces-filled cat carriers, which have been wrapped in plastic and stored as evidence for nearly a year.
The women allegedly told the police they were operating an animal rescue service called "Precious Paws." It was Jones' and Dewey's second offense. In 1992, they were convicted in a nearly identical case. That time, they had 35 cats in an unventilated shed, Heinrichs said. In court on April 3, 2006, Dewey pushed her mother in a wheelchair to the front of the courtroom. The women didn't testify, but answered "yes" when county Judge Kenneth Biehn asked if they understood the charges. As part of the plea, prosecutors have agreed to not seek restitution from the unemployed women. The SPCA, however, could sue them for the $24,000 it has spent on food, vet bills and other services while caring for the seized cats.
Irwin hopes people will come forward to adopt the cats, many of which are older and somewhat harder to find homes for than kittens. Most are in good health, although a few need to go on diets, Irwin said, after being spoiled by SPCA staffers all year. "There are some really sweet animals in there. Especially for people who would like an older, calm kitty," she said. By law, the other evidence in the case - including the reeking cat carriers - must be preserved for another 30 days, in case the defendants decide to appeal their conviction and are granted a new trial. | Source: Bucks County Courier Times - April 4, 2006
Update posted on Apr 5, 2006 - 8:39PM |
The trial of two self-proclaimed feline rescuers who are accused of hoarding dozens of cats in a feces-and-urine-stained Bensalem apartment has been put on hold.
Blanche Jones, 87, and Carol Dewey, 61, were set to stand trial in Bucks County court in Doylestown Monday (Feb 27, 2006) on charges of animal cruelty. The case was postponed, court records show, because Jones is too ill to come to court.
The mother and daughter are accused of keeping 22 cats and one dog in "deplorable" conditions in their Cypress Court apartment last year. Jones and Dewey were arrested in July following a three-month investigation.
Along with the live animals, police in April also removed 10 dead cats from carriers piled high with urine-soaked newspapers from the home. The live cats were taken to an animal shelter. Prosecutors said the animals were malnourished and kept in cramped cages at the women's home.
The women allegedly told police they were operating an animal rescue organization called "Precious Paws." Prosecutors last year described the smell inside the home as "horrendous." Investigators had to don gas masks before searching the property.
Although cat hoarding usually results in probation or fines, the women could face a possible jail sentence because they were convicted before on similar charges.
In 1992, court records show, the pair pleaded guilty to hoarding nearly 100 cats in a home on Hollins Road in Bensalem.
In that case, police found the animals crowded into an unventilated shed and other area. Jones and Dewey said they had rescued the stray cats and were working to find them new homes. More than 20 of the cats were so sick they had to be euthanized.
Court records did not provide any details about Jones' condition, and it was unclear Monday if an attorney represents the pair. Elissa Heinrichs, the assistant district attorney handling the case, could not be reached Monday for comment. | Source: PhillyBurbs - feb 28, 2006
Update posted on Mar 6, 2006 - 1:42PM |
A mother and daughter accused of keeping 22 cats and a dog in fecal-laden carriers in their rented apartment were ordered to stand trial in county court on animal cruelty charges.
Blanche Jones, 88, and Carol Dewey, 51, were heckled by protesters as they showed up for Wednesday's court appearance, at which they waived their right to a preliminary hearing.
Besides the animals found in the apartment in April, officials of the Bucks County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said another 20 dead cats were found in a house owned by Jones.
"The conditions were horrific," county Assistant District Attorney Elissa Heinricks said.
"We want it to go to trial," Dewey said as she left court carrying a briefcase that she said contained evidence of unfair treatment by the SPCA.
In April 1992, the women pleaded guilty to animal cruelty for keeping 105 cats and were forced to relinquish the animals. A few years later, the SPCA found them keeping too many cats again, SPCA Executive Director Anne Irwin said.
The organization worked out an agreement that allowed Jones and Dewey to keep some cats, Irwin said, but the women continued to collect more and more pets. | Source: Associated Press - Oct. 12, 2005
Update posted on Oct 13, 2005 - 8:28AM |
| Two women charged with animal cruelty are still cat-sitting, surprising a Bucks County judge at their bail hearing. Octogenarian Blanche Jones and her 51-year-old daughter, Carol Dewey, are under orders not to take in any animals while they face the animal cruelty charges. They said they would return the cat to its owner. | Source: NBC 10 - July 17, 2005
Update posted on Jul 27, 2005 - 4:16PM |
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