Cats Rescued From Arizona Hoarder for the Second Time

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office visited 80-year-old Lucienne Touboul three years ago, after receiving complaints from neighbors about 70 to 100 cats on her property. A judge ordered her to give up the majority of the cats; many of them were blind, due to injury and illness from their living conditions. Three years later, police were called to back to Touboul's house. This time, there were 104 cats, including nine dead kittens being kept in freezers. Every single one of the cats was in such bad shape that they were all euthanized on site.

A single dog was found living on the property, who appeared to be better cared for than the cats, which means she actually had the minimum of food, water and shelter. If Lucienne Touboul gets to return home, she'll likely get her dog back.

That's hard to swallow. Like most hoarders, Touboul was unable to overcome her urge to collect animals, or come to terms with the obvious fact that she was not even meeting their basic needs.

There was nothing easy about last week's rescue operation. The cats were very sick, the home reeked of ammonia, and Touboul was anything but compliant. According to authorities, her response to the search warrant was to threaten to kill them if they touched her animals.

Touboul will be charged with 104 counts of animal cruelty. They're expected to be felony charges, but she may not serve any time in prison. Sheriff Joe Arpaio says she's "too old and frail to see the inside of a jail cell." Incarceration would keep her from acquiring more animals, but it would do little to address her mental health.

But even if prison isn't the right solution in this case, does that mean she should get to keep her dog?

Some experts, like the ASPCA, argue that allowing at least some of the hoarder's animals to remain in the home — as long as basic health and sanitation requirements are met — could be the only way to break the cycle. It can help build trust between the hoarder and the authorities, making it easier for them to monitor the situation and get both the human and the animals the help they need. If they give Touboul her dog back, maybe next time the police come knocking on her door she won't feel quite as strongly that "she enjoys when officers die."

Whether or not she gets her dog back, and whether or not the handling of her case endears her to authorities, this isn't over. If local officials don't keep a close eye on the situation, odds are it's only a matter of time before they're back on Lucienne Touboul's doorstep for a third rescue mission.

Photo credit: Scott Granneman