Two San Fernando Valley animal hoarders convicted of animal cruelty

CALIFORNIA -- One woman had managed to herd 273 chickens, ducks and guinea pigs and a “rooster wearing a plaid diaper” into a fowl-smelling Sherman Oaks home. Another had packed 30 dogs, six cats and two pot-bellied pigs into a squalid residence in Lake Balboa.

Both were convicted of animal cruelty this week and barred from owning animals for years.

“Our animals should be cherished,” said City Attorney Mike Feuer, in a statement. “Animal hoarding often results in horrendous conditions that threaten the health and safety of animals and humans alike.

 

“We will continue to vigorously prosecute these cases.”

Georgeanne Leong, 54, of Sherman Oaks, pleaded no contest Tuesday to one count of animal cruelty for keeping 248 chickens, 21 ducks, four guinea pigs and what prosecutors described as the diaper-wearing rooster inside her 1,400 square foot home in Sherman Oaks.

After three years of complaints from neighbors, Los Angeles Animal Services officers sent last August to confiscate the birds and pigs in the 5300 block of Willis Avenue found guano and feathers several inches thick throughout the house.

In another raid last October, investigators found a duck that Leong had admitted to operating on without anesthesia, resulting in an infection.

Leong was sentenced to three years probation, 60 days of community service and 48 sessions of animal cruelty counseling, according to the city attorney. She was also prohibited from owning or caring for any animals, or participating in any animal rescues and adoptions.

In another case, Corey Deborah Carnegie, 50, of Lake Balboa, was convicted Tuesday of one count of animal cruelty and three counts of animal neglect following a one-week jury trial.

She was sentenced Thursday to three years of probation, 45 days of community service and one year of animal cruelty counseling, the City Attorney’s Office said. She was barred from owning or caring for animals for five years, or participating in any animal rescues and adoptions.

Both Leong and Carnegie were also ordered to pay restitution for the cost of removing and storing the hoarded pets.

Last July, Animal Services investigators had found the 30 dogs and other animals in Carnegie’s 1,680-square-foot home in the 6600 block of Louise Avenue in Lake Balboa.

The home contained so much animal urine and feces it was “difficult for officers to breathe, prosecutors said. They said the dogs had skins conditions, fleas and “fecal matter matted in their paws and fur, as well as a strong smell of urine.”

(Daily News - Feb 19, 2015)

Earlier:

• Woman charged with cruelty after animals found in urine-soaked home