Investigates

Animal hoarding cases becoming a growing problem in our area

They are the faces of a secret epidemic. They're locked in cages, some without food, water or the touch of a human. They are the voiceless victims of animal hoarding.

Our area has been overwhelmed with animal hoarding cases. In August, 19 cats were rescued from a home New Kensington. In September, 117 dogs and puppies were rescued from a Ross township home. Then in October, there were 150 dogs, cats and chickens rescued from two homes in Donora and Monessen. 

"You look at each other and say you have got to be kidding me," said Humane Officer Dina Perri.

Whisks was one of 97 animals rescued from a Westmoreland County home in 2018. Perri and fellow Humane Officer Andrea Palmer were on that call.

"We had officers leaving the house and getting ill, throwing up," Perri said. "They just pushed the urine and feces to the side. The shovel was right there. Just like a snow shovel, you just slide it to the side."

The case still crawls through the legal system 19 months later and the animals sit and suffer, unable to be adopted until the case is closed.

"It's just not living, it really isn't," said Perri. "It's not fair."

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Channel 11 has reported on nearly a half-dozen cases of animal hoarding in recent weeks. Perri and Palmer say the rate at which a hoarder relapses is extremely high.

"It is a mental illness," said Palmer. "Hoarding is a mental illness."

That's what happened in one of the worst cases in state history -- 117 dogs carried to safety from a Ross Township home. Their owner is a repeat offender.

"You would think this would never have a chance to happen again," said neighbor, Damian Miller. "This is a public failure as well."

Perri and Palmer said hoarding rescues are on the rise, but not because there are more of them.

"People are getting involved," said Perri.

Neighbors are speaking up, fearing what could happen to these animals if they don't.  Local shelters are overflowing with the number of hoarding rescues. Perri and Palmer say the court system needs to catch up with the demand.

"You're not allowed to own an animal for your probation time but as soon as probation is up, you're allowed," said Perri.

They're pushing for stricter penalties for hoarders, who often never see jail time, even when animals die.

"Mental evaluations, every couple months, every six months," said Palmer. "Maybe after the second time, you no longer are allowed to have that animal."

While they fight for new standards. They rehabilitate the animals they saved.

"You want them to live, you want them to move on," said Perri. "That's really not our say, it's up to the judge in the end. They all deserve a chance."