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Case #953 Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Hoarding 58 living cats, over 200 cat corpses
San Jose, CA (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Aug 31, 2000
County: Santa Clara
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 1 files available
Defendant/Suspect: Richard Partridge
In September 2000, investigators from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, acting on a tip, found 58 cats--some dehydrated, some starving and some suffering from untreated illnesses and injuries--in Partridge's North County house, barn and rented storage areas. Along with them were the decomposed remains of an estimated 200 cats.
Partridge was arrested, charged and eventually convicted of two felony counts of animal cruelty and four misdemeanor counts of failure to provide proper and veterinary care to an animal. After a late January trial, complete with grisly photos and descriptions of unhealthy felines, Partridge was sentenced to 270 days in the county jail. With good behavior, he'll probably end up being there for 160 days.
According to the SPCA, Partridge is an extreme example of an animal hoarder. Rob Cole, one of the investigators who discovered the barn, says that Partridge is in "deep denial."
"He is reclusive, deceptive, and was not interested in surrendering the cats, even if it meant the best care possible," says Cole. "His interest in control and possession of the cats seems more evident than anything typical of good or even minimal care."
But to Partridge, the proceedings have been appallingly unfair.
"This is the result of a vendetta by the SPCA," he says, fidgeting with his jail ID bracelet. "This whole hoarding thing is a lie that's being perpetuated. I can't imagine anybody going through all this."
Partridge, who says he's owned cats for over 30 years, claims that if the strays he picked up had been delivered to the SPCA, they would have been euthanized en masse. His worst fears came true when the SPCA did put to sleep 13 of the 58 cats they seized. Six months later, Partridge still can't contain his emotions.
"Money can't buy back those lives," he says, fighting tears. "I felt like I was in Schindler's List, watching my kids get sent off to be gassed, and I couldn't do anything about it but just try to live on another day." References« CA State Animal Cruelty Map
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