Sgt. William O'Hare applied for and obtained a search warrant for the property at 4756 Route 5 in Passumpsic. With O'Hare were deputies Gaylon Smith, Dana Kallahan and Steve Hartwell. Also responding with the officers were Guertin and veterinarian Robert Hicks.
Guertin said she called the sheriff's department because she had heard Harpin had said anyone who tried to take any of the animals would be shot.
Upon serving the warrant, O'Hare found the one-story home to be filled with rotting garbage covering every inch of the floor and furniture.
The entire house was filled with fleas, flies and maggots, feces and urine - and many animals were in various stages of neglect, according to O'Hare's report.
Guertin and Hicks spent five hours inside the house locating and removing the animals which included at least four cats, a guinea pig, mice, a chinchilla, a tortoise, a rabbit, ferrets, lizards, a python, and several other animals.
Found in the home's basement with no food or water was a a severely emaciated, and near death, 4-year-old Labrador retriever mix dog. The dog's condition was so poor he needed to be carried from the house as he was unable to walk.
Also found in the house was a dead and decomposing cat in a plastic bag on the floor, two dead and decomposing kittens in a cardboard box and approximately 14 dead animals partially frozen in a freezer, including a hedgehog, iguana, kittens and cats.
"This is the worst case I've ever seen," Guertin said Thursday. "It has to be the worst case of animal cruelty in the history of Vermont."
Harpin arrived home just as deputies had arrived. As a result of the findings in the house, O'Hare placed Harpin under arrest for cruelty to animals. Harpin is due in Caledonia District Court Sept. 8.
With Harpin was his 70-year-old mother, Pauline Harpin. Pauline Harpin appeared to be covered in fleas and suffering from uncountable flea bites, O'Hare said. He called CALEX Ambulance to come and check her out. Rescue workers in turn asked the St. Johnsbury Fire Department to respond with its decontamination unit.
After she was washed down, Pauline Harpin was taken to Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital in St. Johnsbury for treatment.
Firefighters also decontaminated Guertin and Hicks, O'Hare said.
"The fire department was very helpful," he said. The department also provided protective suits and filtered masks to Guertin and Hicks.
Guertin said Thursday she has found foster homes for some of the animals, but desperately needs homes for the cats. She also said the cost of care and feeding of the animals would be expensive.
People who would like to donate food or cash should call Guertin at 748-4230. Interested parties could also make a donation to the animal's care through the "Rosie Fund," which is a charitable entity created by Guertin in memory of a stray for which she cared.
Donations should be sent to Bank North on Railroad Street in St. Johnsbury.
O'Hare said he will be continuing the investigation into the animal cruelty and other various aspects of the case.
One of the comments on the web site:
ALL I HAVE TO SAY IT IS ABOUT TIME, SOMETHING HAS BEEN DONE. THEY HAVE BEEN REPORTED MANY TIME, BUT NOTHING WAS EVERY DONE. IT IS TO BAD,MAYBE SOME OF THE ANIMALS COULD OF BEEN SAVED.
(Caledonian Record - Aug 8, 2008)
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