Rescue group founder, Amanda Woods, living in home without electricity and full of feces, but blames Giardia for her situation

WEST VIRGINIA -- For the past two years, Amanda Woods has operated the animal rescue group Karen and Friends from her home in Charleston. She said everything was stable until this April, when several of the animals caught diseases and - according to her - she became 'overwhelmed'.

“Once it came out that the cats had Giardia, we had fosters that fled for the hills, and since I'm the director, everything just got jammed at my house,” said Woods.

Kanawha County humane officers seized 22 cats from her home along Beech Avenue Tuesday.

Officials say there was no electricity and animal feces were scattered everywhere. Woods said she had called the Kanawha Charleston Humane Association multiple times, but the shelter was always at capacity.

And your point is? So what if the shelter is full? Why can't you pay your electric bill? Why didn't you reach out to other rescues to tell them these cats were in inhumane conditions and that you needed help NOW? She is a hoarder, plain and simple.

"We tried to get them into the shelter we tried to reach out for help but that didn't work,” said Woods. “So it comes down to do we put these really sick cats on the street and infect a bunch of other cats?”

Oh yeah, a reputable shelter operator would just 'dump' cats onto the streets. This tells me she is NOT a real rescuer because a real one would NEVER do that. She is a HOARDER.

Lots of excuses, but the fact is these animals suffered

Chelsea Staley, the executive director of KCHA says the wait list for dropping off animals at the shelter can take up to several weeks. Some people say the policy is contributing to hoarder cases, but Staley said it's the responsible thing to do.

“People that are in animal rescue groups have the biggest hearts, they have the best intentions and it's very hard to say no to an animal,” she said. “[But} sometimes when you say yes, you are doing more harm than good, and that was the case here.”

Woods admits she is at fault and is relieved the animals are gone. But she says she questions how equipped the shelter is at handling an influx in animals, especially since the facility is currently holding double its capacity.

“That's always a concern, that when you start putting a lot of animals together you start getting upper respiratory illnesses, you get a lot of sick cats,” said Woods.

"They have their own living quarters, they have access to fresh water,” said Staley. “We feel 100 percent that they are better here."

The shelter says although thy can't take in more cats until there is space, workers are more than willing to provide clean water, food, and litter boxes to families and rescue groups that need supplies.

Woods said charges have not been filed against her yet, but she is shutting down her rescue operation and doesn't anticipate starting another group in the future.

(WOWK - June 24, 2015)