Animal hoarding can easily become a serious situation that police are asked to resolve. That’s what happened in Florida when deputies responded to a home that had 30 dogs, in addition to an adult male with disabilities, in terrible condition. As caught on video, the situation was so severe that the homeowner was charged with multiple counts of aggravated animal cruelty and neglect of a disabled adult.
Deputies were requires to wear gas masks during dog rescue
On October 5 at approximately 12:45 p.m., deputies detained Mary Paulis, the owner of a home where 30 dogs needed to be rescued from an extreme hoarding situation, according to a post by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office on its official Facebook page.
Police arrived to the residence in North Fort Myers upon receiving a call about suspected animal hoarding after a deceased dog was found outside the home. A video shared by the sheriff’s office shows a deputy telling Paulis outside of the home that there were dogs and puppies found inside with “stuff all over them.” He tells her that they need to inspect the condition of the dogs, and she says “okay.”
What deputies found inside the home was dreadful and shocking. According to the deputies, they detected an “odor of decomposition coming from a kennel positioned in front of the garage.” Footage shows over two dozen dogs confined in “overcrowded kennels surrounded by feces and urine.”
A bag of Purina Pro Plan dog food is shown on top of one of many cages caked in filth. Most of the kennels contained two or more dogs inside them, and many of the confined animals are heard barking at the deputies as they searched the room. Deputies also say that in one kennel six puppies were found to be covered in their own feces.
In fact, the odor coming from the kennels was so severe that law enforcement, which includes the 1st Precinct Crime Section, Animal Cruelty Task Force and Lee County Domestical Animal Services, needed to wear protective equipment and gas masks before rescuing the animals.
In addition, deputies found that the home had no functioning air conditioning and limited ventilation. Multiple dogs were “significantly underweight” and had “signs of untreated injuries,” and none had adequate access to drinking water. They report that “30 living dogs and one deceased dog” were removed from the home.
If that weren’t enough, deputies found an adult male with a mental disability who lived in the home with his parents and was also living in terrible conditions. They observed the man with multiple bites, likely from fleas within the home. SVU detectives investigated the situation further and said that the male’s bedroom was littered with trash and had no bed. The home did not have running water, either.
Sheriff Carmine Marceno of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office was appalled by what deputies found in the woman’s home. “This is absolutely inhuman,” Marceno said in a statement. “It is always my mission to protect those who cannot protect themselves. No animal or vulnerable person should EVER be forced to live in conditions like this.
He continued, “Thanks to ACTF and SVU members, we will hold this woman accountable for her actions and charge her to the fullest extent of the law.”
After being detained, Paulis was charged with 31 counts of aggravated animal cruelty and neglect of a disabled adult.
Commenters responding to the story on Facebook from local outlet Gulf Coast News were shocked by the living conditions of the dogs in the home. One wrote, “How terrible..can’t imagine anyone living like that.”
Another said, “It’s like a daily thing in Florida! Start putting these people in prison for god sakes!!”
