DEEP RIVER, Conn. — A woman in Deep River is facing dozens of animal cruelty charges after officers discovered her home overrun with dogs. Now, the community is stepping up to make sure the animals get the care they need.
Capacity in the region’s tri-town animal shelter has been maxed out because of this incident. Town officials have asked residents to drop off much-needed pet supplies and donations at town hall.
“Just a really sad situation but I think the public has really stepped up,” remarked Deep River First Selectwoman Carol Doak-Jones.
The donations come after 43 dogs were seized from a small home on Bushy Hill Road. The dogs, along with 12 chickens were found to be living in dirt, trash, urine, and feces and without adequate food or water.
“When you have that amount of animals on a half acre which is what the records show she has, it's tantamount to putting an elephant on a postage stamp,” said Zilla Cannamela, the founder of Desond’s Army Animal Law Advocates.
The homeowner and licensed kennel owner, 78-year-old Jean Jameson, was arrested and charged with 55 counts of animal cruelty. Neighbors didn’t want to talk on camera, but told FOX61 they complained for decades about the stench and barking on her property.
“Help is needed but consequences have to happen for people to learn anything and understand that this isn’t acceptable,” said Cannamela.
According to the Animal Humane Society, hoarding is described as a large collection of animals that overwhelms a person’s ability to care for them. It’s often associated with mental illness and can get out of control very quickly. In addition to the animals, neighbors say Jameson was living in the home with her husband who suffers from Alzheimer’s.
“The elderly couple do need some assistance and we are trying to get them that with our social service director and the health and building department. They are working with them trying to get them back in their home,” explained Doak-Jones, who recently visited the shelter where the dogs are being kept.
“I was able to pet a few of the dogs and hold them while she was cleaning the cages and they all look like they are doing very well,” she said.
The situation inside the Deep River home was only discovered after a local veterinarian who had to euthanize one of Jameson’s dogs contacted animal control to inform them about a possible case of animal cruelty.
In addition to the donations, the town hall is also being flooded with calls from people interested in adoption. The town says they’ll take down your information but right now there’s no timeline for when the animals will be ready to be rehomed.
Jameson will be in court on February 8th.
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