A Florida woman has been charged after 309 animals, including 164 ducks, chickens, geese, cats and dogs, were confiscated from her dilapidated property and mobile home.
Lisa Lacharite, 48, was arrested Friday and charged with five counts of animal neglect, 304 counts of animal neglect and one count of elder neglect. She is currently being held in the Polk County Jail without incident.
On Thursday, Polk County Sheriff's Office deputies conducted a welfare check after someone called about a possible cat hoarding situation at the home on Fazzini Drive in Frostproof, a city near central Florida.
Lacharite's 75-year-old mother also lived in the house.
Upon arrival, officers noticed a strong smell of ammonia outside the home. Lisa told police that she was her mother's caregiver and that her mother had health problems.
When officers entered, they made the horrific discovery of more than 300 animals in squalid and unsanitary conditions. Many were running around freely and climbing on furniture; many appeared sickly and malnourished.
Many of the cats were lying on the kitchen countertops, many looked sickly and appeared malnourished
At least fifty cats appeared to be roaming freely in the kitchen, living room, and utility room
The dirty house smelled of ammonia. There were several animals sitting on the refrigerator
At a news conference Friday, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd held up a picture of Lisa Lacharite, who he said is a second-grader at Ben Hill Griffin Elementary School.
The sheriff said Lisa described herself as someone who “rescued animals,” but once inside her home, a different story emerged, one of abuse and neglect.
There were hundreds of cats, geese, ducks, birds and dogs roaming inside and outside of their mobile home.
Lisa Lacharite, 48, was arrested and charged with five counts of animal neglect and 304 counts of animal neglect
Sheriff Judd 309 animals were confiscated by authorities and repeated the number. 'Did you hear what I said? You can't make this up. You know it's true.'
He said conditions were so bad that deputies and the SPCA, which was helping with the investigation, had to wear respirators due to the dangerous conditions.
“Lisa is not a bad person. “She’s an overwhelmed cat lady,” the sheriff said during the press conference. “She clearly broke the law and she continued to break the law.”
He added: “We found cats that were neglected, cats that were very sick.”
“She was charged with misdemeanor and felony elder neglect charges for being the caregiver to her 75-year-old mother.”
Lacharite admitted that she knew the conditions at the residence were not good for her and her mother or the animals.
She told authorities that she was overwhelmed by the amount of animals she had and that it had become too much for her to handle.
She gave up all the animals except her three dogs and her mother's three cats.
The investigation found that Lisa failed to comply with legal obligations to care and support her animals.
According to the investigation, 304 of their animals, which were confined in the apartment and in smaller rooms within the apartment, did not have proper air exchange.
The ammonia levels inside the home were described as being lethal to humans and animals over an extended period of time.
These environmental factors caused at least five of her cats to suffer from repeated eye and nasal discharge, as well as significant breathing problems in the form of coughing and wheezing.
Officers reported that Lisa's mother, who was not named, had glassy eyes and could not move easily. She was taken out of the apartment.
At least five of her cats reportedly suffered from eye and nasal discharge as well as significant breathing problems in the form of coughing and wheezing
Officers and animal control specialists found about 10 litter boxes in the home's hallway, all filled with urine and feces
During the investigation, officers found the following animals climbing on furniture, sitting on the kitchen countertops, and sitting in the kitchen cabinets filled with urine and feces.
Dried feces were also found on the floors and walls.
Several chickens, ducks, geese and a peacock in wire hutches stacked two and three rows high on the home's porch.
Dirty water was found in containers in the stalls, and all stalls contained large amounts of feces at the bottom of the wire cages.
Many appeared to have not cleaned the cages for a long period of time.
The stench inside the house was so disgusting that police and zookeepers had to wear gas masks
Animal rights groups are now working to rehome the hundreds of animals that were removed from the house
The air quality was poor and the strong smell of ammonia caused burning and irritation in the eyes, nose and throat.
Three of the cats in the kennel were nursing kittens.
About 50 other cats were in the back room of the home, in the middle bedroom, dogs and more chickens and ducks in cages and containers.
The Polk County Fire Department responded with an ammonia scanner and collected air samples from inside the residence.
The samples showed values between 70 and 100 parts per million ammonia. PCFR officials pointed out that anything above 50 parts per million is hazardous to health.
All animals were removed from the home and transported to animal control. T
The animals are examined by veterinarians. Polk County Animal Control will work with the public, the SPCA and animal rescue organizations to find forever homes for animals.
Polk County Animal Control has asked the public interested in adopting the animals to contact them at [email protected].
The investigation involved the Polk County Sheriff Officer and members of Polk County Animal Control, Animal Cruelty Investigations Unit.
In addition to agricultural crime, crime scene and southeast district patrol.