Hoarding - 10 dogs, 1 cat, living in filth
Pottsville, PA (US)

Incident Date: Monday, May 8, 2006
County: Schuylkill

Disposition: Alleged

Abuser names unreleased

Ten dogs and a cat were removed from a home in Pottsville on Monday, May 8, 2006. The woman who owns the house now faces charges, along with her father. And, there is so much animal waste in the house that the place has been declared a health hazard.

Late Monday afternoon, a tip call led authorities to the 500 block of East Market Street in Pottsville. Inside the house, 10 dogs and a cat were living alone in a massive amount of filth. "The animals were living in their own feces," said Tricia Moyer of the Hillside S.P.C.A. "They were chained to walls, chained to the stove, unable to reach food or water. They were basically living in their own excrement."

Photos taken inside the house showed one dog chained to the wall. Another picture showed garbage and feces all over the kitchen. Louise McGovern's house is right next door. "I never thought it was this bad. Never," said McGovern. "The smell. The smell was horrible. I couldn't open my window. Nobody could open the windows. The smell was that bad." Neighbors say no person had lived in the house for several months. But, they tell Newswatch 16 that Wesley Reedy went into the house once in a while. According to a family friend, Reedy's daughter, Brenda, owns the home. The pair now faces several charges of animal cruelty. They're also accused of causing a catastrophe because of the large amount of animal waste inside the house.

"We've had a lot of cruelty cases but none to this degree," Tricia Moyer said. "When the people came home, they said, 'Oh, we didn't know.' But, how can you not know with two feet of feces on the floor? You know there's a problem."

The 11 animals removed from the home in Schuylkill County were taken to the Hillside S.P.C.A. near Pottsville. The animals will be checked out and groomed, then put up for adoption.

References

• « PA State Animal Cruelty Map

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