Case Details

Hoarding - 81 cats seized
Bluff City, TN (US)

Incident Date: Tuesday, Apr 25, 2006
County: Sullivan
Local Map: available
Disposition: Convicted

Abuser/Suspect: Lisa Y. Shuttle

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

Case ID: 8245
Classification: Hoarding
Animal: cat
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A Bluff City woman was arrested on April 28 on 81 counts of aggravated animal cruelty for keeping 81 cats in a mire of filth and feces, officials said.

Lisa Shuttle, 44, 185 Hillcrest Road, Bluff City, remained jailed on the charges and will be arraigned April 29.

Sullivan County Sheriff's Office Detective Craig Carter said neighbor complaints about the Shuttle property spurred the investigation - which was the second in the past year.

"The complaint alleged that nearly 100 cats were being kept penned up inside the building and (the owner) never did more than feed them," Carter said.

SCSO and Bluff City animal control officials obtained a search warrant for the property at 171 Hillcrest Road, which adjoins the property where Shuttle lives with her mother, and conducted the search Tuesday.

Carter described the property as an old storefront that had been converted at one time into apartments.

The building was currently abandoned, he said, but Shuttle began using it for cats.

"All but two rooms had a carpet of cat waste between 1 and in excess of 5 inches deep," he said.

Carter said officers seized 39 cats on April 25 at 171 Hillcrest Road but obtained from that property information about more animals being kept in the area.

"During the service of the first search warrant on Hillcrest Road, officers on scene could observe a kennel through the hedge that was located on the rear patio of the adjacent property," Carter said.

Officers saw more than 20 cats in that kennel, "and when the wind blew across the property a strong stench could be smelled," he said.

On April 26, officers obtained a warrant to search Shuttle's house and found 42 more cats.

"They were in a kennel in 8 to 18 inches of their own filth," Carter said.

He said Shuttle blamed her health and a full-time job as part of the reason for the conditions.

"Most of the cats would meet the definition of being feral. All had matted eyes, runny noses and some form of hair loss ranging from 40 to 90 percent," Carter said.

"There are some that may not survive, but they have to be kept for evidence, even at the expense of suffering," he said.

Carter said he did not believe Shuttle intentionally neglected the animals.

"It's good intentions gone awry. There is no way a person can maintain a full-time job and care for that many animals properly," he said.

Carter said the situation was more of a sanitation issue than anything because there is no county law limiting the number of cats a person can own.

Last year, Shuttle was investigated for the same allegations, but she was able to get the property cleaned up to the satisfaction of animal control officials, Carter said. That investigation concluded in August.

"If those cages have been cleaned out since then, I'd be surprised," he said.

Case Updates

A Bluff City woman who was found keeping 81 cats in squalid conditions has pleaded guilty to animal cruelty.

Lisa Shuttle will serve three years of probation on three counts of aggravated animal cruelty. The other 78 counts were dropped in the plea bargain.

The 44-year-old Shuttle must also undergo a mental evaluation, follow any recommendations of the evaluators and perform 150 hours of community service work.

Sheriff's officials seized the animals in April, living in filth in an abandoned store beside Shuttle's home. Others were in a wire cage on her porch.

Shuttle must also repay more than $8,000 to Friends of the Sullivan County Animal Shelter for nursing the cats back to health.
Source: WBIR - June 7, 2006
Update posted on Jun 7, 2006 - 10:12PM 
The woman who police said turned her house into a giant litter box went home from jail Friday.

Lisa Y. Shuttle, 44, left jail on $2,500 bond, one day after turning herself in to face 81 counts of aggravated animal cruelty. A judge ordered her to have no contact with any animals as long as she�s out.

Sullivan County authorities reported seizing more than 80 matted, filthy cats Thursday from Shuttle�s home on Hillcrest Road in Bluff City and an old general store next door.

Animal control officers said they found the cats crawling through piles of feces, some of it more than a foot and a half deep.
�They were having to dig through it to get some of the cats out,� county sheriff�s Lt. Craig Carter said. �I have never heard of a case this bad.�

Shuttle, a former language arts teacher at Ashley Academy in Johnson City, told police she came home from work too tired to do anything but put out food for the cats.

That didn�t keep her from cramming stray cats into the house and store building, authorities said.

Shuttle�s mother, Helen, who lives in the house, told police she�d begged her daughter to stop rescuing cats but that �her daughter snuck cats in while she wasn�t looking,� according to a court affidavit.

Authorities warned Shuttle nearly a year ago to clean up the place and stop taking in so many cats. She told officers at the time that she couldn�t stand to see cats taken to animal shelters where they might be killed.

It�s a common philosophy among some animal lovers, authorities said.

�There�s a perception that respect for life translates to preservation of life at any cost,� Officer Phil Lane said. �There�s really a whole myriad of things that go into it.�

Such cases usually begin with the owner taking in animals out of a fondness for them and a well-meaning desire to help. Over time, the mission spins out of control.

One animal becomes two. Two animals become four. The owner begins to hoard animals, often keeping them locked up in cages or kennels. Some enjoy the feeling of control that comes from their power over the pets.

Taking proper care of the animals eventually becomes impossible. Even then the owner refuses to seek help, often seeing the problem as a kind of martyrdom, a personal sacrifice.

Authorities believe Shuttle might have shared a similar mentality. They said that�s no excuse.

�They were her babies,� Carter said. �But when you get too tired to care for them, that�s when you should start getting rid of the animals.�

Studies indicate the typical animal hoarder tends to be a single, middle-class white woman, often living alone, who shares few close relationships with family or co-workers.

The collector often leads a double life, presenting a professional, intelligent persona in public and a slovenly, careless one at home.

Hoarders might not mistreat their animals on purpose but refuse to admit they have a problem. They�ll often insist nothing�s wrong, even when animals sicken, starve, die or eat each other. Sometimes they clean things up for a while but ultimately go back to their old ways.

Shuttle could make her first court appearance Monday. She could face up to a year in jail on each count, although a sentence that harsh would be unlikely.

The cats, up to 84 as of Friday, continue to recover at the county animal shelter. Calls from animal lovers around the region have poured in since their arrival.

�The phone�s been ringing off the hook,� Lane said. �They�re doing about as well as can be expected.�

A veterinarian has volunteered to care for the cats, and the Holly Help Spay Memorial Fund, a Bristol-based animal lovers group, plans to cover any costs for spaying or neutering them.

�This is what it�s all about,� said Sue Williams, the group�s leader.

Callers have asked about adopting the cats, but authorities said that won�t happen until after Shuttle�s case wraps up. They�ll be held as evidence until then.

�At least they�re in cages that�ll be cleaned up,� Lane said.
Source: TriCities.Com - April 29, 2006
Update posted on May 1, 2006 - 12:31PM 

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References

Kingsport Times-News - April 28, 2006

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