261 Rescue Dogs Rescued Again

Last week, 261 dogs were confiscated from Diane and Charles O'Malley, who ran Mid-Florida Retriever Rescue in Polk City, Florida. Investigators found "wall to wall dogs ... in every room in the residence, to include closets, bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchens, porches, etc." The animals were not healthy, and there was not enough food or water for all of them.

Mid-Florida Retriever Rescue is a nonprofit organization. They took in dogs and tried to place them in "loving, permanent homes." Ironically, their adoption process included a home visit to make sure the dogs were being placed in a good environment. But their own situation was out of control. Deputies said the home's deplorable condition "wasn't fit for humans or dogs."

Make no mistake: this isn't the case of a rescuer "getting in over her head." Two hundred and sixty-one malnourished, flea-infested dogs is hoarding, not rescue.

When officials first arrived, after receiving a complaint, the O'Malleys reluctantly let them in the house. Many of the deputies had to wear face masks due to the urine and feces permeating the house. "To call it horrific or shocking, those are just too common to describe the total filth in this house," said Polk Sheriff Grady Judd. Despite crates stacked in the bedroom, feces everywhere and exposed mattress springs, the couple actually lived there. (Hoarding Sign #1: They obviously didn't have a grasp of the reality of their situation, and they continued to live that way despite the fact that it interfered with their own health and well-being.)

The emaciated pack of dogs included several animals who were poorly socialized. The biting dogs drove the deputies back outside, where the O'Malleys agreed to bring dogs out one by one. After 117 dogs, their lawyer advised them to stop until there was a search warrant. After obtaining the warrant, deputies seized 261 dogs with a variety of maladies, including dermatitis, parasites, and loss of muscle mass. One dog died during the rescue. (Hoarding Sign #2: Textbook definition from the Tufts University Hoarding Animals Research Consortium: "Inability to provide even minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, shelter, and veterinary care, with this neglect often resulting in starvation, illness, and death.")

Local animal control was shocked — they knew the couple from their rescue work. A man, who said he fostered dogs for them, was also surprised by the number of dogs, but he emailed in their defense, "These are good people, with good intentions, who have helped rescue and place hundreds of dogs a year throughout Central Florida." Even if that's true, it doesn't mean much for the hundreds of dogs living in squalor.

I'm not arguing that the O'Malleys didn't have good intentions. But, like many hoarding situations, those good intentions paved a road to hell for the animals. And the good intentions of hoarders die hard — animal hoarding is a disorder known to have a 100 percent rate of recidivism. In several hoarding cases that I've seen, the defendents can't help acquiring more animals before they even make it to court, despite judge's orders.

The O'Malleys were charged with 261 counts of animal cruelty and released on bail with a warning not to get any more animals while they await trial. The Sheriff's Office filed for custody of the dogs and plan to sue the couple for the cost of care, if the court doesn't award them compensation. The first day of care alone cost nearly $10,000. The community has stepped forward to help with the influx of dogs. Over 2,200 pounds of dog food has already been donated, along with hundreds of towels, shampoo, and other dog care paraphernalia. Experienced rescuers and vet techs showed up to help assess the dogs, while other volunteers worked on getting them clean and comfortable.

The future for these dogs is bright. It's unlikely that they'll be returned to the O'Malleys and, with a high-profile case like this, people will line up to provide these mistreated dogs with clean, safe forever homes.

The future for the O'Malleys, on the other hand, is less certain. Hopefully, as a first step toward helping them, and protecting dogs wherever they end up living, the judge will go beyond the cruelty charges and order psychiatric care to try to address their hoarding issues.

Photo credit: cryrolfe_photography