For the second time in less than two years, animal control officers said they found more than a dozen cats living in deplorable conditions in a West Haven woman's home.
Lynn Bodner, 49, pleaded not guilty in Milford Superior Court on Aug 9 to 16 counts of animal cruelty and 10 counts of failing to vaccinate the cats.
Bodner also allegedly kept three dead kittens in a plastic bag outside her back door, though she told officers a dog attacked them and she hadn't had time to bury them, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
Police responding to complaints about the kittens reported an "overwhelming stench of ammonia" in Bodner's apartment and said they also found the body of a cat so decomposed they couldn't immediately identify it.
According to the affidavit, officers found urine-soaked carpets but no water bowls or open windows that would allow the cats to get fresh air.
Officers charged Bodner and removed the cats from her home. According to court documents, 18 cats were removed in February 2004 when officers found similar conditions.
Dr. Dennis McBride, director of the Milford Health Department, said there are often mental health issues associated with people who horde items such as magazines, memorabilia, bicycles and even cats.
"It's a very common and overlooked problem," he said.
Bodner is due back in court Sept. 9. Case UpdatesMore than six months after police and animal control officers seized 16 cats from a squalid West Haven apartment with feces and dead kittens, a Superior Court judge told their former owner on January 5, 2006 that there is no way she�ll ever see those pets again.
Lynn Bodnar, 49, of 11 Savin Court, has refused to sign over her favorite four of the seized cats to the West Haven Animal Shelter so they can be adopted, and has insisted that they be returned before talking about a way to resolve her animal cruelty charges, her lawyer said. But Superior Court Judge John Ronan told Bodnar in court that the conditions in which the cats were found mean that a return "is not going to happen." "I understand you�re a person who loves cats, but based on what I know, you are not getting those cats back," Ronan said. "It�s not going to happen. You�ve got to move on and release those cats."
Bodnar was arrested and charged with 16 counts of animal cruelty and 10 counts of failure to vaccinate against rabies in June 2005, after police responding to complaints about the smell found the animals in squalid conditions. Police said the apartment was "in complete disarray," with overflowing litter boxes, no potable water in sight, and three dead kittens found stuffed in a bag. Bodnar was sobbing as Ronan delivered his lecture in court, and she declined to comment after the hearing. But in the hours preceding it, Bodnar was heard saying "I just want my cats back" several times at the courthouse, apparently to no one in particular.
A total of 12 cats survived and were taken to the West Haven Animal Shelter and most have been adopted, Assistant State�s Attorney John Barney said. But Bodnar still needs to sign over ownership of the remaining four so that they can be adopted into loving families as well, he said, and serious discussion about a settlement of the charges won�t begin until that happens.
Animal cruelty is a class D felony and punishable by up to five years in prison for each count. Bodnar�s attorney, Vito Castignoli, said in court that her insistence on the animals� return has created a roadblock for plea negotiations. "The concern has been, and is right now, getting these animals taken care of," Barney said. "Obviously, she�s attached to them, but we don�t feel she should get them back." | Source: New Haven Register - January 6, 2006
Update posted on Jan 7, 2006 - 6:47PM |
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