Hoarder was charged with animal cruelty after investigators discovered a filthy home with dozens of caged animals living in their own feces and urine. Authorities are calling the incident one of the worst animal cruelty cases on Long Island.
Roy Gross, chief of the Suffolk County SPCA, told the newspaper that Suffolk County SPCA officers arrived at Linda, Ronkonkoma, with a search warrant after receiving complaints about three or four dogs living in poor conditions. – Arrived at the home of Mr. Hart (79 years old).
But when they arrived on scene, Gross said, investigators found her home covered in thousands of maggots, flies and 49 pets caged throughout the residence.
“There was no cage-free room in the house where the dog was, including the bathroom,” he told the Post, adding that there was also a cat and six parrots inside.
“The dogs were living in their own faeces, and the urine had soaked through, making them very matted.”
“The smell was so bad,” Gross said, that several local authorities wearing protective gear forced their way into the home at 2478 Motor Parkway.
A stomach-churning photo shared by the Post shows the dogs badly matted and Hart in the kitchen, unable to move more than an inch.
“She seemed to have a hoarder habit,” Gross said of Hart, who was slapped with 49 counts of animal cruelty on Tuesday.
Her home was condemned following the tragic discovery, officials said.
Gross said the pets had been treated so badly that he wasn’t ready to adopt them yet.
“For these animals to suffer like this in this kind of environment, I don’t know what to say other than it’s just a horrible, horrible situation,” he added.
“That was probably one of the worst.”
