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COLUMBIA CITY, Ind. (WANE) — An “all hands on deck” animal rescue in Columbia City brings relief for neighbors living next to the mobile home.
On Tuesday, the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department, Health Department, and the Humane Society removed 33 animals from a home in Miami Village Mobile Home Park. 24 cats, seven dogs, and two guinea pigs were recovered from the “poor living conditions.”
Neighbors told WANE 15 the person who lived in this house is guilty of much more than hoarding.
“It made me sick, because I have animals,” Miami Village Neighbor Jonathan Michael said.
Jonathan Michael lives a few doors down from where the animals were removed. He said that about six or seven months after his neighbor moved in, he noticed they were not taking care of their animals.
“I’d notice dogs, when she would walk them around the park,” Michael said. ‘They were kind of losing hair.”
Over the past year and a half, his concern only grew. According to Michael, the house would smell when it rained. When asked what kind of smell, he cringed and said, “feces.”
The odor overtook Michael when he was invited into his neighbor’s home.
“Feces everywhere, animals were sick, matted eyes, and then a lot of cats were missing hair.”
At that time, Michael was helping out Miami Village Community Manager Amber Miller with the situation. He personally had talked to the neighbor a couple of times and gave them several notices, reinstating the rule that they could only have two dogs and two cats in their home.
“She didn’t listen,” Michael said. “I noticed she was bringing in more animals.”
Miller said she had known about the trailer’s poor conditions before, but then Michael told her over 20 cats were living in the home. On Friday, she decided it was time to call the health department.
It took authorities six to seven hours, from start to finish, to condemn the mobile home.
“My biggest concern is keeping the community safe and healthy and happy,” Miller said. “You have to take pride in where you live.”
Donetta Smith, Another Miami Village Neighbor and cat-owner, said the situation made her angry. She said animals need care; if the owner cannot provide that, they should not have pets.
“I just handed over four of my own strays because I couldn’t take care of them,” Smith said.
Michael agreed and said that other people living in the park are there to be good neighbors to each other.
“There are neighbors out here willing to help,” Michael said. “You just got to ask.”
The Sheriff’s Department told WANE 15 they are working in conjunction with the prosecutor’s office to create a case against the neighbor.