Hoarding - 57 animals Warner, NH (US) Incident Date: Tuesday, Aug 9, 2005 County: Merrimack Local Map: available Disposition: Convicted Case Images: 1 files available Abusers/Suspects: » Wendy Ruff - State Citation » Bryon Ruff - State Citation Case Updates: 4 update(s) available

Case ID: 5323 Classification: Hoarding Animal: cat, dog (non pit-bull), pig, chicken, goat View more cases in NH (US) Child or elder neglect Login to Watch this Case

A two-story home was condemned after officials found five children amid roaming chickens and rotting trash, sleeping on sofas and sharing the property with 57 animals � 10 dogs, 1 puppy, 10 piglets, a pig, six geese, two ducks, 12 cats, three kittens, three rabbits, two goats and seven chickens.

"It was worse than what we thought it was going to be," Warner Health Officer Charles Durgin said yesterday of the West Joppa Road home.

On the morning of Aug 9, Durgin, police and a small cadre of local and state officials went to the residence of Bryon and Wendy Ruff armed with an administrative inspection warrant that gave Durgin the power to look inside the house and inspect the living conditions. Officials said they had received numerous complaints from neighbors about the home's "deplorable living conditions."

Warner Police Sgt. Scott Leppard said the town had to get the warrant before Division for Children, Youth and Families could involved.

The animals were removed from the property. The future of the five children, ranging in age from 7 to 17, is uncertain.

For now, they are with their mother. A distraught Wendy Ruff, who had earlier pleaded with two representatives from the DCYF over the state of her children, said she knew the home was a problem, but said it was still livable.

"The town of Warner has been after me for years," she said. "My kids are very healthy."

Ruff, who said she did not know where her 40-year-old husband, Bryon, was but believed he was on a drinking binge, said she did not have the money to clean the house up, and had been away in prison.

"I'm poor," she said.

She and her five children slept in the family minivan just feet from their home on an unpaved section of West Joppa Road Tuesday night.

Yesterday, Leppard said officials from the state Division for Children, Youth and Families would be coming by to take custody of the Ruff children if more suitable accommodations could not be found.

"They can't stay in a vehicle, it's not right," he said.

Officials did come later, but told Ruff that they could only stay one more night either in the car or in a tent on the grounds. However, Ruff later said she would stay in a hotel, and the children would be with family members.

Leppard said the family would be given a list of improvements that would have to be made to the home. If they chose not to, the town could make the improvements itself and bill the family. Other options include possibly seizing the home if the Ruffs refuse to act.

A walk through the now-empty home gives an idea of what officials found when they got to the unpainted house. Rotting trash, including used food containers and cola cans, is strewn about on the wooden floor, illuminated by a single light bulb hanging from above. Exposed pink insulation fiber has been torn from the wall.

On the first floor, there is a living room and a kitchen and what could be a small dining area. On the opposite end of the kitchen, stairs lead up to sleeping spaces that have two sets of mattresses and a sofa.

A smell of what officials say is animal urine pervades the home. Care has to be taken to avoid the multiple deposits of animal feces.

Lisa LaFontaine, head of the Monadnock Humane Society, one of four animal welfare groups which also joined the rescue, said they were now taking care of four dogs and about nine geese, all of which were under the temporary "protective custody" order by the state for all the animals.

LaFontaine said overall, the animals were in okay condition, but were thin and in need of grooming and exercise.

Ruff said she was upset the state veterinarian had ordered the removal of her animals after seeing the home. Ruff contended many of her animals were old, but not in bad shape. If she was abusing them, she said, they would have died.

Durgin, the local health officer, said both parents are unemployed, and complaints against them by neighbors began about five years ago.

He said they had tried several times to take a look inside but Wendy Ruff had not let them. "It's not something new," he said. "She can be very belligerent."

According to Leppard, Bryon Ruff recently served six months in the Merrimack County House of Corrections for probation violation, breach of bail and criminal mischief.

The 37-year-old Wendy Ruff is currently out on bail for charges including violating a protective order, criminal threatening and disorderly conduct, Leppard said.

She also recently served 20 days in the same jail for criminal threatening, domestic assault and criminal trespassing, he added.

According to one news report, Wendy Ruff believes that the family was setup by peeved neighbors. When asked about the state of the house, she said: "When we left that home that morning that house was not like that. I believe the Warner police dept and neighbors knew they were doin' that, I believe that."

Case Updates

Neighborhood Map

For more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.

Back to Top

Add this case to:

Del.icio.us

|

Digg

|

Furl

|

References

	The Union Leader - Aug 11, 2005
	Channel 7 News - Aug 11, 2005
	WMUR - Aug 11, 2005
	Concord Monitor - Aug 11, 2005
	WMUR - Aug 12, 2005

« NH State Animal Cruelty Map

Not sure what these icons mean? Click here.

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.