Cats sit in a carrier Wednesday at the Humane Educational Society after dozens of animals were removed from an Apison home.
Staff Photo by Angela Lewis/Chattanooga Times Free Press
Heather Bradshaw, left, holds a dog as Ginger Taylor gives it a shot Wednesday at the Humane Educational Society. Dozens of animals were removed from an Apison home and brought to the facility.
Staff Photo by Angela Lewis/Chattanooga Times Free PressThe 44 cats and eight dogs found at an Apison home Wednesday afternoon made up a “classic example of hoarding,” according to Guy Bilyeu, executive director of the Humane Educational Society of Hamilton County, which rescued the animals.
The interior of the home was littered with feces, and wallpaper was peeling off the walls. Cats were roaming freely, Bilyeu said. In the backyard was an overgrown pen containing several doghouses, where the dogs were found.
At least three more cats remain at the house, until Humane Society workers determine the best way to catch them.
The couple living at the home had both been recently checked into separate mental health facilities, Bilyeu said. Their son, who lives in Seattle, approached the Humane Society saying he didn’t know what to do about the animals.
“He’s obviously distraught about this, but he did the best possible thing,” Bilyeu explained. “We could have cited them with all kinds of charges, but because he called us and released them over to us we won’t have to do any of that. Fortunately, in this case we can just focus on the animals.”