Hoarding - 30 cats and dogs living in squalor
Warwick, RI (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Apr 22, 2000
County: Kent
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: woman
A young boy about 8 or 9 years old was found living in a filthy condo with about 30 dogs and cats. The condo was filled with feces, some of the cats and dogs were dead. Investigators are checking into whether they should hand the custody of the child over to someone else.
The child was living with a woman they believed to be his grandmother. He mother might have also been living at the condominium. Their names were not released.
Animal control officers removed the cats and dogs from the home yesterday. The officers described the interior the condo as the worst they've ever seen. The officers said they had to buy respirators and full body suits before they could go in.
Even with the extra equipment the officers could only stay inside the condo for 10 minutes or so because of the smell. There was also fleas and other insects in the home. They saw what they believed were human feces on the floor of the condo in addition to the animal waste.
One of the officers said, "It was definitely squalor. They were living in squalor. There was not a room in the house that didn't have feces."
The officers removed at least 17 live cats and 2 cocker spaniels that were in poor condition. They also removed two dead cats, one dead kitten and about seven live kittens.
The animals have been taken to the Warwick Animal Shelter and were being cleaned up. The condo has been condemned by the city's Building Department.
Neighbors in the condo had been complaining about the smell coming from the condo. Since the condos were privately owned, the property manager said he could not go inside unless there was an emergency.
When the animal control officers visited the home, the woman who answered the door the mother or grandmother appeared to be covered in flea bites. The boy was lying inside the condo on the sofa. The woman and boy went to the Motel 6 and gave the officer a key to the condo. She said she was too sick to help them.
There were buckets of food for the animals, but cats were eating Oreo cookies and cake left on a table.
Some cats seemed to be suffering from respiratory illness and the dogs looked sickly.
Outside of the 492 unit complex it appeared to be neat with well manicured lawns and a pond in the middle of the grounds. References- Providence RI Journal-Bulletin - Apr 23, 2000
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