Hoarding - 98 dogs, 94 birds seized Andover, OH (US) Incident Date: Thursday, Jan 31, 1991 County: Ashtabula Local Map: available Disposition: Alleged Alleged: » Edith Wampfler » Douglas Erbaucher

Case ID: 7477 Classification: Hoarding Animal: dog (non pit-bull), bird (pet) View more cases in OH (US) Login to Watch this Case

A weekend raid at an Ashtabula County home belonging to Edith Wampfler, 87, and Douglas Erbaucher, both of Andover Township resulted in removing 98 dogs and 94 birds.

Larry Dickman, Ashtabula County Humane Officer said the charge was filed yesterday against both Wampfler and Erbaucher for denying animals food, water and ventilation.

Dickman and his assistants removed the 98 dogs and 94 birds from the woman's home which he called "filthy," littered with feces and dead dogs. Thirty-three of the dogs had to be euthanized because of illness.

The birds were flying free throughout the home. The home "had a stench so bad it made your eyes burn."

Erbaucher said some of the dogs were his, so he was also charged. There is an ongoing investigation into what the woman was doing with the animals.

"We know they have been shipping animals to other states without a license to do so. We also know that some of the dogs wore collars and said they belonged to people from out of state. We are investigating all these things, along with the many records we confiscated. We have a lot to do, but this investigation is far from over."

Since the investigation was reported in newspapers and on television they have received hundreds of calls from people wanting to aid, offering homes to the animals or looking for lost dogs.

"One woman called me in tears because she said she recognized her missing dog on television. We are trying to determine if any of these dogs are missing so we can reunite them with their owners."

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 Plain Dealer - Feb 28, 1991

« OH 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.