Two elderly individuals were recently removed from a home in Cedar Crest, after a welfare check request revealed unsanitary living conditions and animal hoarding.
The welfare check spurred an investigation by BSCO’s Special Victims Unit and Animal Cruelty Task force, and on Jan. 10 a search warrant was issued for the property.
During the search, law enforcement officers found two to four cats, three small dogs, two parrots, two roosters and one squirrel inside the home and at least four roosters and two ducks were found in a detached garage located alive on the property.
Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Jayme Fuller-Gonzales said in an emailed statement to City Desk ABQ, that detectives also found eight dead animals inside the home. Some of the animals were deceased in their cages, with several inches of feces under their remains.
“The conditions were likely to have existed for weeks to months at a minimum prior to the animal’s deaths. In this case the animal’s remains were in an advanced state of decomposition, such that a cause of death could not be determined,” she said.
The two elderly people who were living in the home were relocated with the help of BCSO social workers, Fuller-Gonzales said.
Bodycam footage and photos released by the sheriff’s office shows the condition of the home and yard.
What’s in the video
Body camera footage and photos show deputies were barely able to open the front door of the home due to piles of trash. They repeatedly called out to the residents.
As one law enforcement officers made his way through the home, he coughed, recoiled and groaned from inhaling the stench,
In the first room, a large flat screen television set can be seen in the distance sitting on a table or desk, with waist high piles of trash and other belongings.
A photo of another room in the home shows piles of old animal carriers, animal food dishes, crates and what appears to be animal byproducts and other trash.
Boxes and trash reaching as high as the ceiling are seen in a third photo, and photos of two bathrooms show at least shin high waste and unusable bathtubs and toilets.
Room after room within the house is piled high with trash.
In the yard there are piles and piles of crates and animal shelters. Some contain multiple live dogs, cats, chickens and another animals.
Two people are seen rescuing a white duck, while unidentifiable remains of other animals are found throughout the property.
Unable to prosecute as a felony
Because the dead animal’s causes of death are unable to be determined, Fuller-Gonzales said BCSO at this point is unable to prosecute this case as a felony.
The current statute, she said, fails to account for the severity of the neglect, and because of this, BCSO is advocating for stricter animal cruelty legislation.