RSS Feed
Print Story
E-mail Story
Pets rescued from nightmarish conditions; corpses found in freezer
| Thursday, Jul 17 2008 9:54 AM
Last Updated: Friday, Jul 18 2008 7:32 AM
Kern County Animal Control officers found the corpses of 14 cats and dogs wrapped in plastic and tucked into a freezer on property in Tehachapi Wednesday.
BAKERSFIELD.COM HOT TOPICS:
Loading Stories
Advertisement
On Wednesday evening, the Kern County Animal Control Commission again discussed a proposed county ordinance requiring owners of large numbers of animals to register with county animal control.
The owners would have to submit to routine inspections of their facilities, to prevent abuse.
Discussion of the concept will continue at future commission meetings.
They rescued 15 living dogs and 37 cats.
And they arrested Anita Gilbert, 59, on 41 felony counts of animal cruelty.
Animal Control officers, backed up by Kern County sheriff’s deputies, raided Gilbert’s Tehachapi home where they found animals, living and dead, in nightmarish conditions.
“Deplorable,” said Senior Animal Control Officer Steve Eirich. “I struggle to describe it. I’ve been here 17 years and this is one of the top five (worst).”
Eirich said Gilbert lived in a 100 by 60 foot metal outbuilding with the animals.
The dogs were living in kennels constructed inside the building and most of the cats were confined in two offices and a bathroom.
Used dog and cat food cans were strewn around the area, piled 2 feet deep in some areas amid a hodge-podge of trash that Eirich could only call “debris.”
Animal feces covered large patches of the floor, he said.
“The situation was so bad that our animal control officers could only go in for a few minutes,” said Resource Management Agency Director David Price III. “Station 16 (of the) Kern County Fire Department responded with industrial fans and respirators.”
Eirich said his animal control officers could barely breathe because of the stench inside the building and had to fight the urge to vomit if they didn’t dart out to take in fresh air.
Kern County code enforcement officers declared the large metal kennel building and a home on the property unfit for human habitation, Price said.
“It was obviously not suitable for the animals either,” he said.
Eirich said the homes’ problems weren’t related to the animals and it appears Gilbert and the animals lived only in the metal outbuilding.
Animals rescued alive were moved to the county animal shelter in Mojave — or are in the care of veterinarians, Price said.
“Some animals seemed to be in pretty good condition,” he said.
But some of the cats tested positive for feline leukemia, which is highly contagious.
Those animals will be quarantined but could die from their illness and their condition is a concern for other animals in shelter populations, Price said.
Eirich said a report made Monday by a member of the public triggered the investigation of Gilbert.
Animal control officers tried to investigate the problem Tuesday but were refused access to the property.
They came back with a search warrant and sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday, Eirich said, after hearing Gilbert tried to clean up the property overnight.
It appears she was only able to clean out the dog kennels, he said. The rest of the structure remained in horrible condition.
“It was like dropping a penny in the dollar slot,” Eirich said.
Kern County Sheriff’s Department Senior Deputy Michael Whorf said Gilbert was arrested by animal control and booked into the sheriff’s central receiving facility in Bakersfield.
Her bail was set at $205,000.