VIRGINIA BEACH
Authorities removed about 200 animals - nearly half of them dead in freezers - from a home in the 200 block of N. Lynnhaven Road early Tuesday, police said.
Animal Control agents, responding to a complaint of ferrets living in poor conditions, found more than 100 ferrets, a dog, a bird and three cats "living in deplorable, unsanitary and crowded conditions," according to Margie Long, a police spokeswoman.
Most of the animals were suffering from dehydration and malnutrition, she added.
Carcasses of a rat, cat, otter and 89 ferrets were found in freezers in the home and garage, according to Long.
She said 61 of the rescued ferrets had to be euthanized because of their poor health, more than 15 are in Animal Control custody, and about 23 with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The animals will be held pending a court hearing.
There is no limit to the number of ferrets someone can own in Virginia Beach, but they have to be properly maintained, Long said.
The homeowners could not be reached for an interview. A man who came to the door angrily repeated, "Go away!"
Pinewood Garden residents were shocked at the number of animals removed.
Bob McCrea, 77, lives across the street. He said he knew of just two ferrets.
"They tell me there's 90 dead in there, but I can't believe it," he said as he stood in his yard and watched news crews near his house. "It's unbelievable."
William Ellett lives several houses down from the residence. Ellett, who has lived in Pinewood Garden for almost 40 years, said Animal Control has been called to the home before.
"Before she built her barn, she had some other shed, and the urine smell was horrible," said Ellett. "We couldn't keep our windows open."
Teresa Lamarche, community outreach director for the Virginia Beach SPCA, said ferret breeding can quickly get out of hand.
"People don't understand what's required to care for them."
Lamarche said the SPCA normally doesn't take in ferrets because they should be left in the wild but called this case an exception.
Jennifer Jiggetts, (757) 222-5104, Jennifer.Jiggetts@pilotonline.com
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Einvb sounds like you know
Einvb sounds like you know this person. You seem very passionate about this, however it does not excuse the fact that what she did was illegal and again 23 MONTHS
Attention poster Orion....
While I agree with most of your comments, I must correct one thing. Ferrets are in no way related to rodents. They are carnivores are related to otters, wolverines, minks, ermines, sables, ect. There WAS a rat in the freezer, too, so there was one rodent, actually.
tooo funny....
I like the excuse that she was trying to help them by taking in so many. My first thought is if she had 30 children at her house, collecting them, because people didn't want them and she was trying to give them good homes, well a ton of people would be pissed. No matter the intention you have to look at the "REALITY". No matter where the "HEART" is you have to look at the CONDITIONS... Previous issues with Odor, previous issues with the law = a bad situation no matter the intention. I'm not an animal rights nut like PETA but have to know when to say NO. So even if the other side of the story was "she's helping them" well she's creating a hazard for herself, the animals, and others by her intentions... now, is it cold in here, i feel like i'm in a freezer...
Thanks debi!
Of course, I don't know if you'll see this because they started doing the staff approval thing again... It'll probably take a day or so to post, if at all.
Ferrets are intelligent and have feelings
I have had ferrets for years. Each one has it's own distinct personality and they do have feelings. They are as intelligent as dogs and cats and are very loving. It is very difficult to obtain ferrets that haven't already been fixed so I doubt that this lady has been letting them breed. Also, as others have already expressed, they cannot survive in the wild. Ferrets have been domesticated for centuries and were used on the early ships to maintain pest control. Rats and mice won't go near them. I'm sure that this lady regrets what has happened and feels the loss of these awesome little fuzzy animals. I hope that the survivors find good homes. I have three and know how much it takes for them so I cannot take any more. They have a 4 level cage that has to be cleaned daily and they need to have at least an hour a day to run around outside their cage while they giggle and play their little games of tag, hide and seek and torment the dogs by hiding their toys.
Most of you are wrong?
Yea, right. Look, I'm sure she didn't mean it on purpose, but you hear of several of these stories each year. They find 100 animals in someone's house, and half of them are dead, blah, blah, blah. At some point, a family member or somebody needs to intervene. Even if her heart is in the right place, you can't justify those living conditions.
p.s.
I hate michael vick, too!
BB
....calm down.
foolish comment comparing ferret case to Michael Vick
I absolutely hate Michael Vick with a passion. He is a sick and evil man along with every other individual who fights and tortures dogs. My hatred of Michael Vick has absolutely nothing to do with his color or his income. While we still have very little information about this ferret case, there is no evidence that these people delighted in torturing the ferrets, making them kill each other, or brutally murdering them for not being good enough. It is animal cruelty but it's animal cruelty that started with good intentions but led to neglect of pets other people threw away, not cold-blooded torture of trusting companion animals purchased and bred for the purpose of abusing.
One more thing....
As dumb as I am about ferrets, even *I* know they're not wild animals. If they were they wouldn't be sold as pets....would they -- especially here in Virginia. That individual with VB who was quoted as saying they should be left in the wild should be fired.
billr24532
Thank you SO MUCH for providing the missing 'other side' to this story. I certainly hope this lady gets to tell what really happened. I'm ashamed for jumping to conclusions. But I still hate people who mistreat animals and children. But I'm not saying this person did this time!!
To the person who said ferrets are like cats. I did not know that.
Most of you are wrong!!!!
That lady took in ferrets from idiots who bought them and later found that a pet needed care. So instead of killing the animal, it was brought for her to care for and hopefully get adopted out. She also took in sick ferrets from people who didn't want them now because the animal was sick.
She did ferret RESCUE and was a saint to those animals. Now because her health is failing, she is not able to provide loving care as she did in the past.
She froze the animals because that preserves them and they were going to be studied so doctors can learn more.
The media is NOT giving all the information. Typical of the media, they only give bullet points that is intentionally misleading so people want to "tune in" to their station or newspaper. Fair and balanced reporting - HA! No way!
Please don't judge this lady by the media. They have it wrong.
BTW: I have adopted many ferrets over the years from this lady. Trust me, she is not some wack job the media makes her out to be. She is a devote animal lover, she has extensive veterinary background, and she meant well, but her health diminished.
WAIT until you hear her side. You wish you hadn't posted those hurtful remarks!
Where is the publicity at? its animal cruelty isnt it????
Animal cruely huh, where is the tv breaking news at now? Where are the helicopters at? How come this mans face or womans face isnt on every screen on the computer or television? How come hes not on tv apologizing for what hes done, how come hes not getting as much as publicity as Michael Vick was getting or is getting. Its all animal cruelty. Wow now you see why people were saying it was just because hes a famous football star or because he wasnt the same color as some of you other hiprocrites out here. This world will forever be diversed. Animal cruelty is animal cruelty no matter how you look at it. But some of you werent worried about the animals that Vick were killing you were just worried that he get everything he worked for taken away from him you could care less about the dogs. Its apparent right now today. wow you hate to see a Man do good you just have to find a way to bring him down no matter what the color is.....
genabean
Comparing the potential murder of children and their subsequent freezing to rodents and equal treatment under law is as disturbing as the woman who had the ferrets in the first place.
EinVB
So we are supposed to believe an inflammatory, poorly written comment by an unidentified individual?
Pot, kettle, black...
Sorry, but the reported condition and amount of animals found in one dwelling is staggering, and the fact 61 of these animals were euthanized tells me this person has "issues." And it's not just the pilot reporting on this, you can get your information from every media outlet in the Hampton Roads area and the information, for the most part, is identical.
You are a bunch of idiots!
How dare you judge someone based on half-truths and misinformation provided in the paper? None of you know this person personally and can comment on the state of her home, state of her animals, her mental stability or money issues. She is NOT a horder and is NOT selling them to a fur trader. She is a VERY kind and giving woman and you should all lay off.
I could be wrong
But, I 'am sure she froze them, because it's illegal to just dumped them in the garbage? I do not think she intentially brought harm to these animals. Her heart was in the right place, but maybe her physical/financial? state were not. Sad all the way around. Fur? I don't think so.
Hoarders
This woman has a classic hoarder. It is a form of mental illness when it gets out of hand. Hope she gets the help she needs. Just wondering why family members did not intervene before this. It is very sad about the loss of so many animals. Hope and pray to God that I never become an animal hoarder.
fur
God I hope not! I figured the freezing issue was just part of a separate mental issue I've heard of where people refuse to bury or discard of their deceased pets and try to "preserve" them that way. Is there a market for ferret fur? So many sick people out there...
23 Months
She doesn't have a mental problem, she has a money problem. 23 months should be the least amount of time that she serves in a FEDERAL PRISON!
23 MONTHS