Around 7:20 a.m. police got an anonymous complaint about a foul odor at 815 Crestview Drive, which is off of Madison Pike.
Police went to the home and found dozens of dogs inside the home, living in filth. Some dogs were already dead.
An elderly couple lives in the home.
[Identified as James Lin, 73 and Patricia Lin, 71.]
Lieutenant Terrell Cook with the Madison Police Department says due to disease and poor healthy conditions, some of the dogs had to be euthanized.
Huntsville Animal Services sent two crews to assist in the rescue.
“Animal hoarding is becoming an epidemic in the United States,” said Director Karen Hill Sheppard.
Sheppard says cases like this usually begin with the best of intentions.
“Often these people, when we do take the animals, we put them under mental health court to help them recover and move on and not have this problem again,” said Sheppard.
Several agencies helped in the operation, including Madison City Animal Control, Huntsville Animal Services, the Madison Animal Rescue Foundation and The ARK. They are working together with local veterinarians to try to save as many of the dogs as possible.
Sheppard says the tell-tale signs of hoarding are unmistakeable, and people must act if they suspect abuse.
“It’s the smell of a lot of animals, feces and urine. And upon investigation, that’s how we find there’s a problem,” said Sheppard.
“When there’s a smell, a lack of care, and animals, you need to encourage your local animal control departments to do more investigation,” Sheppard added. “That’s how we’ve either found them ourselves or other people have alerted us to the problem, and because we know the signs, a lot of times, we know.”
Police say there are no charges yet against the elderly homeowners, pending a full investigation.
(WHNT - June 14, 2012)
