Home Condemned After SPCA Rescues 68 Animals
Deplorable conditions reported inside home with urine and feces all over
NBCPhiladelphia.com
This bunny was just one of 60 other animals taken from a "hoarder's" Northeast Philly home Monday.
A Northeast Philadelphia woman's home needed to be condemned after more than 60 animals were taken from her care.
The Pennsylvania SPCA removed 22 cats, 22 rabbits, 8 doves, 7 guinea pigs, 5 dogs, a pigeon, a duck, a turtle and a hamster from Paula Gibson's home along 1100 block of Hellerman Street just before 5 p.m. Monday, officials said.
PSPCA spokesman George Bengal called the conditions inside the home "absolutely horrible."
"The place is covered in urine and feces and it smells horrendous inside," Bengal said.
Gibson, who lives in the home along with her son Craig, was dubbed a hoarder after the confiscation.
The woman wouldn't talk on camera, but her son said they simply help animals that are in need.
"We, um, help animals that were in bad condition, brought them back to life, transformed them into lovable pets," Craig said.
Ironically, some of the dogs and bunnies came from the SPCA, according to officials.
The PSPCA didn't say how they were tipped off to the home, but Craig believes it was a neighbor. He refused to identify he believes to be involved, but says it was all due to a recent dispute.
City officials from the Department of Licenses and Inspections donned hazmat suits to assess the situation inside the home. They decided the conditions were hazardous to inhabit and condemned the home. They've given the Gibsons' a few days to clean it up.
But that doesn't seem to matter much to the mother-son rescue, they'd just like their animals back.
"We just hope we get our animals back in the conditions they were in," Craig said.
Unfortunately for them, that may never happen, Bengal says.
Posted Monday, Mar 15, 2010 - 11:19 PM EST
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