When Polk County Sheriff’s Office animal cruelty investigators arrived at the home of 66-year-old Catherine Briley in Highland City on Wednesday, they had to don respirator masks before walking inside because the stench of ammonia from the urine of 27 cats and one dog was dangerously high.
They also found five dead cats under a bed in a room with a closed door.
“The suspect confined all of the animals inside the residence without an exchange of clean air,” investigators wrote in their report. “Additionally, the suspect confined the five deceased cats in a bedroom without access to food and water, which ultimately resulted in their death.”
At a glance
- The problem: Three animal hoarding cases in four months are causing emergency conditions at the already overburdened Polk County animal shelter.
- How you can help: Adopt an animal, spay or neuter your pets, volunteer at the shelter, make a monetary donation or purchase something on the shelter’s Amazon wish list like food, potty pads and nursing kits.
- Where: The shelter is located at 7115 de Castro Road in Winter Haven, next to the entrance to the North Central Landfill, just off the Winter Lake Road exit of the Polk Parkway.
Many of the cats were coughing and had green nasal discharge. The dog, a male poodle mix, was very thin, had large patches of fur missing and had dermatitis from an apparent flea infestation. The dog also had eye issues and apparent respiratory conditions from living inside the ammonia-contaminated air, causing it and the cats “ongoing and repeated respiratory distress, which causes unnecessary or unjustifiable pain or suffering.”
Briley was arrested and charged with five felony counts of animal cruelty and 28 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty, along with several other charges related to the hoarder condition of the home and yard.
It is the third time in four months Polk County Animal Control has had to deal with an animal hoarder situation, causing emergency conditions at the already overburdened county animal shelter.
“This is the third case since December where we have found a woman who is hoarding animals to the point where they are being neglected and suffering from illnesses,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a press release. “The home, inside and out, is also what I would call unlivable. This particular suspect is no stranger to the criminal justice system, having been arrested in the past for various crimes. It is our hope these animals will be rehabilitated and able to be adopted out to loving homes, and that this suspect is no longer allowed to own animals.”
Law enforcement was at her house in March to arrest her on felony charges of providing false information to a law enforcement officer. They were searching for a man staying at her house and wanted for retail left. She was also charged with assisting him after the fact.
December animal-hoarding arrests
On Dec. 21, investigators found at a Frostproof house 142 cats, 3 dogs, and 164 fowl, including ducks, chickens, geese and a peacock. Animal Control officers took the hoard to the animal shelter and rescue operations.
Deputies charged 48-year-old Lisa Lacharite with five counts of felony cruelty to an animal and 304 counts of misdemeanor confining an animal without sufficient food or water.
Lacharite’s 75-year-old mother, who was living in the house and was described as glassy-eyed and not easily able to move, was taken for a health evaluation. Lacharite was also charged with felony neglect of an elderly disabled person.
A week later, 57-year-old Sharon Cochran of unincorporated southwest Polk County was found living with her 82-year-old mother, one dog and 35 cats inside a house.
“Cat feces and roaches were in every room of the residence. There were no litter boxes found,” a report read. “The air conditioning was non-operational, preventing a sufficient supply of air from circulating in the house.”
Cochran was taken into custody and charged with felony neglect of an elderly person and 36 counts of misdemeanor animal neglect. Her mother was relocated to other family members.
Briley, Lacharite and Cochran are all facing trial on their charges.
497 animals seized during cruelty investigations
PCSO spokeswoman Carrie Horstman said in the last six months, Animal Control has impounded a total of 7,294 animals. Of this number, 497 of them came from cruelty investigations.
In all of 2023, Polk County Animal Control:
- Took in 13,185 animals.
- Euthanized 5,090 animals.
- Saved/adopted/transferred 8,095 animals.
“Other rescue organizations bring them to us if they can’t adopt them out,” Horstman explained. “Our euthanization numbers include animals that are sick, hit by vehicles, diseased and feral.”
On Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, Animal Control’s veterinarian, with the help of animal care technicians and a customer service specialist, evaluated and treated Briley’s 27 cats and one dog.
On Thursday morning, one short-haired adult tabby and a short-haired black kitten with one white sock from Briley’s brood allowed a visitor to scratch their heads.
“We expect the majority of them to be adoptable,” said Capt. Cody Scherer, deputy director of the animal shelter.
Scherer and other shelter employees said that while it’s hard to see and treat animals who are suffering, they are often relieved that the animals are no longer being housed in such horrible conditions by people who are unwilling or unable to care for them.
Shelter Customer Service Specialist Kelli Fulcher was busy Thursday reaching out to rescue groups to see if they could foster any of the animals seized this week.
The adoptions of the animals seized Wednesday might take time, Horstman said, adding that the only additional costs to the shelter for seized animals are for the overtime paid to employees to catalogue, evaluate and treat the animals. However, there are food and medicine costs, as well.
“They’re part of an ongoing court case, where she can petition to keep them — so we don’t automatically have custody of these animals,” Horstman said. “It will take weeks to get the ones we just seized healthy enough for adoption.”
Adopt, spay and neuter
In the meantime, she said people can help the Polk County Animal Shelter by adopting the dogs and cats already there. There are free adoptions every Saturday.
“We ask the public to come adopt the already-healthy, already spayed/neutered/vaccinated pets that we have so that it helps make room for this most recent intake,” she said.
For those who want to help the shelter, but can’t take home a pet, Horstman said they are always happy to receive donations of food, litter, and blankets. The shelter also has an Amazon wish list. The shelter is located at 7115 de Castro Road in Winter Haven, next to the North Central Landfill, just off the Winter Lake Road exit of the Polk Parkway.
Sheriff Judd has told LkldNow that the hoarding cases arise when people take in animals, who then have litters, their offspring have litters and so on, and it quickly gets out of control.
The only way to stop that is to spay and neuter the animals.
SPCA Florida in Lakeland issued a press release Thursday afternoon, saying all spay or neuter surgeries for cats — indoor or outdoor — are now $45.
“Anyone with a pet cat, indoor or outdoor, needing a spay or neuter, can now contact SPCA Florida’s Medical Center to make an appointment and pay only $45.”
SPCA FLORIDA News release
“By reducing the amount of unwanted litters being born and animals coming into Polk County shelters, we can end the needless euthanasia of many cats,” said SPCA Florida Executive Director Shelley Thayer. “Unfortunately, many pet owners struggle to pay the price to sterilize their animals. Our goal is to drastically reduce the cost to spay or neuter felines and give pet owners the opportunity to save a life.”
To make an appointment, call SPCA Florida’s Medical Center at 863-577-4635, e-mail clinic@spcaflorida.org, or stop by the facility at 5850 Brannen Road South, Lakeland.
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