Case Details

Hoarding - 34 cats, 27 abandoned
Nashua, NH (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Aug 30, 2006
County: Hillsborough
Local Map: available
Disposition: Not Charged

Persons of Interest:
» Robert William Savage
» Rose M. Savage

Case ID: 9576
Classification: Hoarding, Neglect / Abandonment
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Child or elder neglect
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Disgusting. That's the word that kept rolling out of George Smith's mouth when asked to describe the scene at his apartment building at 10-12 D St.

"I called the landlord because I thought it just had to be cleaned up," Smith said from the driveway of his first-floor apartment. "It was just disgusting. There was cat (expletive) and (expletive) all over the place.

"We had to have candles burning all day from the smell, the bathroom tiles were stained from cat (expletive), and we could smell it all the time," Smith, 36, said while pointing to the second-floor apartment, right above his. "There's no need to live like that."

A few hours earlier, city Animal Control Officer Langlis joined workers from Gauthier Realty of Nashua, owner of the building, and the Humane Society for Greater Nashua in acting on a complaint Smith logged earlier in the week. What they discovered was 27 cats, both young and old, abandoned in the second-floor apartment at 12 D St., said Laura Lemieux, acting animal care director for the humane society.

According to Smith, the cats were left behind in the three-bedroom apartment after their owners, Robert and Rose Savage, left with seven other cats in tow late on the evening of Aug 29.

"I went there this morning, and we locked them out of their apartment," said Gauthier Realty Leasing Agent Melissa Gauveia. "It's unbearable to think about: (They) can't even pay rent, and they think they can take care of that many cats. When we heard complaints from the neighbors, we figured there were three or four cats, tops, not seven times that many. That's just unacceptable."

Gauveia said the realty company served the Savages, an eviction notice on the morning of Aug 29, and the family, including two adolescent children, has 28 days to pick up its belongings from the company.

As for the cats, there's some good news, Lemieux said.

"We got a call from (Langlis), and we went to the apartment building and removed 27 cats," Lemieux said. "You can only imagine what that must have looked like, but they all appear to be in reasonably good health. And that's a relief."

Lemieux said the Humane Society for Greater Nashua has to hold the cats for up to 48 hours for the rightful owners to come claim their pets. If the family doesn't claim the cats, in about seven to 10 days, pending any outstanding medical conditions, the cats will be ready to adopt or put in foster care.

Lemieux is hoping for adoptions, considering that the shelter is over capacity at 130 cats, not including the 27 just picked up; it was built to hold about 50 to 60 cats.

"Right now we're setting up temporary shelter, where there is office space, until we have places for these cats," Lemieux said. "We've never had this much. We rely heavily on the public to help us out."

The cats are domestic shorthaired and range from 8- to 10-week-old kittens to pregnant female cats, Lemieux said. Even if a person or family can't adopt a cat permanently, they can still take them into foster care until a proper home is found, Lemieux said.

For more information about animal adoption from the Humane Society for Greater Nashua or what its needs are, call 603-889-BARK or go to www.hsfn.org.

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References

Union Leader - Aug 30, 3006

« NH State Animal Cruelty Map

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