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CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #7641 Rating: 2.7 out of 5
Hoarding - over 60 animals removed from property
Washington, PA (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Dec 2, 2004
County: Washington
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 1 files available
Defendants/Suspects:
» Marci J Klinzing
» William E Moore
Marci Klinzing and William Moore say they love animals. In fact, they love them so much that they simply can't help but open their home and property to animals facing abandonment or death.
"They're just like our kids," said Klinzing. But Washington Area Humane Society contends that if the couple's animals were children they would have lost their parental rights a long time ago.
On Dec. 2, 2004, former humane society officer Susanne Lewis, police and others confiscated more than 60 animals from the couple's property on Route 18 in Chartiers Township after receiving an anonymous tip about the animals' poor living condition. The animals included rabbits, peacocks, ducks, roosters, a guinea hen, cats, chickens and a dozen dogs. According to Lewis, the animals were either in cages or tied outside with no food or water. The chickens, rabbits and ducks were crammed in tiny cages packed with several inches of fecal matter and urine. Five ducks were held in a cage too small for a cat. The chicken coop was ankle-deep with excrement, and there was a cat carcass in a travel carrier. Several of the 12 dogs that were confiscated were sickly. Several suffered from irreversible water deprivation, which includes blindness, and all had whipworms. Klinzing and Moore were issued 16 citations.
A few months later, District Judge David W. Mark approved an agreement between the humane society and the couple. Klinzing and Moore each would plead guilty to a summary offense and pay the appropriate fines. They then would have time to clean up their property with weekly inspections by the humane society. Once the property had been cleaned to the satisfaction of society officials, four of the dogs would be returned to them. Five other dogs, which the couple claim are purebred beagles, could be given to registered breeders. The couple would also have to relinquish their rights to all the other animals so that they could be adopted.
However, Lewis refused to return the dogs after another inspection when she and other humane society representatives found that Klinzing and Moore had not lived up to their end of the agreement, which required them to provide the dogs with appropriate commercial houses and clean food and water bowls. Instead, the shelters were neither airtight nor watertight, and some consisted of plywood sheets propped up together. The bowls were dirty, filled with rainwater that ran down the trailer's roof. One of the bowls was a makeshift tire rim, Lewis said.
The humane society refused to return any of the dogs, including five purebreds that were to be given to breeders. "They were also the last descendants of a male and female that we bred," Klinzing said. "You get attached. They mean a lot to us." Moore, 57, who has lived on the Route 18 property all his life, said his family always had animals and there were never questions about their care. "I have decades and decades of keeping animals," he said. Klinzing called the humane society's allegations unfounded. She said the animals that were confiscated were well cared for -- considering they're animals. The couple explained that the chickens were being raised for slaughter; they were trying different food to cure a rabbit with a diseased nose; and the peacocks were to be bred and sold.
As for a cat carcass found by Lewis, Moore said the feline was an old family pet that had died a few days before, and he simply forgot to bury it. The couple said they have tried to meet the society's cleanup emands, including new houses for the dogs. But, "nothing is good enough," said Klinzing, who admitted to now having three dogs and nearly a dozen cats living on the property.
Although Lewis recognizes the couple's good intentions, she said their actions do more harm than good. "They're animal hoarders," said Robert T. Crothers, society president.
Meanwhile, 11 seized dogs remain in limbo. Pat Spahr, society board member, explained that, since the dogs' seizure, they have been kept in a special holding area on the organization's Route 136 property since they are unable to be put up for adoption. The dogs have been treated by veterinarians for an array of health problems. "The society has picked up all the costs," she said, including food and veterinarian expenses. But she said the society can't continue to absorb the costs and needs the space for other abused or abandoned animals. Attorney Pete Suwak, who's representing Klinzing and Moore, said the problem could be solved easily if the animals were returned. "It's a shame we can't reach some sort of agreement," he said. However, the society representatives maintain there was an agreement, and the couple didn't live up to their end of the bargain. Suwak said his clients have authorized him to initiate litigation against the society. But he explained that, under state law, he has up to two years from the date of the incident to take legal action, which could mean the dogs will stay where they are for the forseeable future. References« PA State Animal Cruelty Map
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