Arpaio says two of the suspect hoarders have been arrested and booked into jail. The third hoarder from the town of Wittman was found dead inside his mobile home, partially consumed by his pet dogs and cats.
The first animal hoarding case was in New River and involved 30 miniature horses suffering from poor medical care and severe neglect. After deputies served a search warrant on the home located at 44824 North New River Road, animal crimes investigators found that the horses hoofs were in such bad condition that many could barely walk.
Deputies seized 24 of the miniatures and took them for immediate veterinarian care. One of the horses had to be euthanized. Many of the mini horses and donkeys are currently in the care of Sheriff Arpaio’s no kill animal shelter being looked after by inmates. Others have been fostered out while the case against the horse owner is ongoing.
The New River case resulted in the arrest of the horses’ owner, Heather Philips, age 61. Philips was booked into the Maricopa County Sheriff’s jail, on August 6, 2014 on 24 misdemeanors and three felonies all stemming from animal neglect.
The second case occurred yesterday at a million dollar home in Fountain Hills, AZ.
Sheriff’s deputies were called out to 15232 East Sage Drive by two anonymous tips regarding possible animal hoarding there.
The home owner is Sharon Anne Weber, age 55. According to the Sheriff’s animal crimes unit, Weber is a cat rescue volunteer who recently had at least 50 cats inside her residence.
Deputy Sheriff’s had warned her on two previous occasions to reduce the number of cats in her home. When they went to check on the home on Tuesday, they found Weber and asked permission to see the condition of her cats.
Animal crimes deputy Dave Evans who has responded to numerous homicides and meth labs in his 15 year law enforcement career says what he saw and smelled there yesterday was unlike anything he has ever seen.
“The stench from the cat urine and feces was so unbearable, we considered calling a haz mat team to clear the area. It was far worse than any homicide scene I’ve investigated. When we walked through the house, we were walking through literally two feet of feces.” Deputies booked Weber on 18 counts of animal cruelty.
The third hoarding case occurred in the town of Wittman.
Sheriff’s patrol deputies responded to a welfare check on the person residing at 26821 North 206th Avenue after a report of a foul smell coming from the residence. Deputies found 78 year old Jerry Brown dead inside the mobile home with about 50 dogs and cats in the home and on the property. Brown likely died about a week ago and his pets had partially consumed his body, deputies say.
Arpaio says his deputies are working with officials from the Arizona Humane Society to rescue the Wittman animals and take a facility for care and keeping.
One of the cat’s deputies found when they were at the Wittman property ensuring the animals there still had food and water was a four month old black kitten missing both eyes.
They described the kitten as remarkably affectionate and trustworthy despite being blind. Deputies brought the kitten to the vet for examination.
They named him “Homer” after the bestselling true story of Homer, the brave blind cat. Employees from the Sheriff’s office are lining up to adopt the kitten, Arpaio says.