Bambi Eloriaga-Amago
In August, a 65-year-old woman from Van Buren County, Arkansas, was found dead in her own home. Authorities also believed that her remains were partially eaten by the dogs she hoarded on the property. She had been suffering from Hepatitis C.
The death of the woman, whose identity was undisclosed, was only revealed in the last week of November when authorities returned to the property to dispose of 27 aggressive dogs that were still on the property. When they first tried to retrieve the woman’s body at the house, police discovered more than 50 malnourished and aggressive dogs living with the woman. Most of the animals were extremely aggressive, forcing police officers to shoot them just to get to the woman’s body. A veterinarian responding at the scene was also bitten.
The woman, apparently, had a history of hoarding dogs. Three years prior to her death, she was forced to give up 103 dogs living with her. Meanwhile, the more than 50 dogs she had hoarded anew were all sick and not vaccinated. At present, about eight dogs are still on the property and would either be captured or killed eventually.
Animal hoarding is prohibited under US animal cruelty laws. The ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) website states that, “Animal hoarding is covered implicitly under every state’s animal cruelty statute, which typically requires caretakers to provide sufficient food, water and veterinary care.”
In the US, according to the ASPCA, there are an estimated 900 to 2,000 new cases annually of animal hoarding, involving about a quarter of a million animals.
