Animal Hoarding

Finally, Help Arrives

In Victorville, California, humane groups raced to help the nearly 300 animals caught in the web of an animal hoarder.

"It was the worst animal disaster I've ever seen," reported Kathi Schlintz (photo right) of PAL Humane Society in Victorville, California. "There were dead rats, feces, trash, and sick animals everywhere.

"I just felt sick to my stomach, thinking how terrible it was for the animals to have to live like that. There were 245 dogs and about 40 cats living there before local animal control and some rescue organizations stepped in to reduce the numbers".

"I was there to take as many of the cats as I could. My team loaded up 22 cats and we rushed them to the vet. All of them had upper respiratory infections. And what we thought was loss of hair from ringworm turned out to have been from them pulling out their own fur from the stress of their living conditions."

Best Friends staffer Vicki McDonnell brought a van out from Best Friends to take some of the dogs back to the sanctuary. "By the time we arrived, there were only 141 dogs there, but I was struck by the smell and intense overcrowding. They were crammed, some as many as 8 or 10 together into small runs," said Vicki. "They couldn't get away from the poop piled high in the runs. It was daytime, but rats were running everywhere. Someone had donated some dog food, but the rats were already tearing into the bags as they lay on the ground.

"Some of the dogs couldn't stand, and one had toenails so long that he was unable to walk. Other dogs were spinning, some were chasing their tails, others pacing up and down in a daze, like they'd gone somewhere else in their minds to escape the horror of their lives.

"We took seven dogs back to the sanctuary. Their teeth were worn down to the nub from eating rocks and dirt when there was no dog food available."

Kathi Schlintz attended a Victorville City Council meeting, where 10 rescue groups demanded that the city take action on behalf of the animals still left at the ranch. "The council agreed that help was needed, and will be working with the authorities to achieve a better resolution for the animals still left at the ranch, and to stop this from ever happening again."

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