Dead animals found in closets, garage, cages
Ocala, FL (US)Incident Date: Friday, Mar 31, 2006
County: Marion
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 2 files available
Alleged:
» John T Koogler
» Pamela G Koogler
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A half-dozen animals some locked in cages were found dead, possibly from dehydration and malnutrition, at a southwest Ocala home on March 31, 2006. One dog and three cats were found alive and were taken to a veterinary clinic. There is an overwhelming smell of decomposition in the home, said Carol Cichy, Marion County Code Enforcement Animal Cruelty Investigator. "It was heart-breaking. The animals were locked in the closets and the garage. Some animals died in their cages. Two of them were too decomposed for me to tell what they died from Cichy, along with Marion County Sheriff's Office deputies, went to the 5328 S.W. 37th St. home in the TimberWood subdivision near Airport Road after receiving an anonymous tip.
They reported finding cats and dogs caged in the garage and others locked in closets and bathrooms. Four cats and two dogs were dead. Officers described and photos showed the home as strewn with Home Shopping Network boxes, bags, furniture, piles of clothes and newspapers and cans. In most areas, the floor was not visible. A decorated Christmas tree stood in the living room and one bathroom was covered with pieces of toilet tissue and trash. Feces were all over the floors of the home.
Investigators are now searching for homeowners John and Pam Koogler. They are believed to be staying at a motel at State Road 40 and Interstate 75. Based on evidence we have so far, pending the conversation with the suspects, we will definitely be pursuing charges with the State Attorney's Office, Cichy said, adding that she believes there could be more dead animal remains among the trash in the home. They didn't all die at the same time, she said, noting the condition of the dead animals varied. It appears that the owners came in and fed the ones that were alive and walked right past the dead ones, Cichy said. One neighbor called the entire scenario disgusting. How can someone go to the . . . house and walk around dead animals and not even take a shovel to bury the dead animals? He's got an acre lot. He's got a beautiful home and he can't even live in it, said Joe Anderson, 63, who lives two homes down.
Anderson said he believes the couple stopped living there full-time in August 2005. Court records indicate that Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. filed foreclosure on the property in June 2005. It was not clear how the case was resolved. I see him there often. I see him drive past the house and park there sometimes. . . . As far as I'm concerned, these people should be locked up in jail. This is absolutely disgusting, Anderson said.
Case UpdatesThis morning, PETA sent an urgent plea to Assistant State Attorney Dandreinne Amihere urging her to appropriately prosecute John and Pamela Koogler of Ocala. The couple faces charges stemming from authorities' March 31 discovery of six dogs and cats who were reportedly found dead inside cages in the Kooglers' home and garage. According to news sources, debris and feces covered the floors of the home, which had an "overwhelming smell of decomposition." Three surviving cats and a dog were taken for veterinary treatment. "It appears that the owners came in and fed the ones [who] were still alive and walked right past the dead ones," a Marion County cruelty-to-animals investigator said.
Because the Kooglers may be "animal hoarders"-people who obsessively accumulate animals-PETA is requesting that, if convicted, they be prohibited from owning or harboring animals and required to undergo a thorough psychological evaluations followed by counseling.
"The Kooglers appear to be either unable or unwilling to provide the most basic care to animals," says PETA Researcher Dan Paden. "Experts agree that dementia and other mental health disorders may be at play in many hoarding cases and that upon conviction, only carefully considered sentencing and probationary conditions can preclude the otherwise inevitable recurrence of these crimes."
Dandreinne Amihere, Assistant State Attorney
Office of the State Attorney, 5th Judicial Circuit
19 N.W. Pine Ave.
Ocala, FL 32670 | Source: PETA Media Center
Update posted on Apr 10, 2006 - 11:27AM |
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