HOLLISTER, Calif. (KGO) — Hollister Police rescued hundreds of animals from a local animal shelter.
On Thursday, police executed a search warrant at a home off El Toro Drive. They found dogs and cats living in squalid conditions without food or water and with puddles of feces.
Police arrested the couple on felony animal cruelty charges.
They say they are the founders of an animal rescue organization called SBC Pet-A-Palooza Rescue Inc.
Sherry, a Hollister resident, said she connected with one of the organization's founders through Facebook last weekend and adopted two cats on Sunday.
“When I read that, I was just taken back. I was completely taken back,” Sherry said.
She said there were no red flags and the cats appeared to be kept in clean cages and well fed.
“I could tell he cared. He brought a big bag of food, had his ears cut off, got spayed and neutered, and I was just shocked. He was arrested. I was really shocked that it was just two people,” Sherry said.
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Police said 200 critically ill cats and 13 dogs were rescued from the property.
Kiska Ikard, Acting Deputy Director of the San Jose Department of Animal Protection & Services Department said that while people may be carrying out rescue operations with good intentions, overcrowding is harmful.
“Just because you can set up another crate doesn't mean you actually have the personnel to adequately provide that care, so if you exceed your own care capacity, you can actually put the entire animal population at risk.” “It's going to happen,” Ikard said.
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If you are considering adopting a pet from a shelter or rescue agency, please ask questions and monitor the transportation process.
“One way to examine the conditions in which these animals are housed is to simply ask how many animals are currently housed and how much space is there for them?” Ikard he said.
She recommends visiting the facility if possible.
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A “No Trespassing” sign is posted on the outside door of the home off El Toro Drive.
ABC7 spotted several cats wandering around the front yard.
For animal advocates like Shelley, she hopes people can make the right decisions when they feel overwhelmed.
“Please get help. I know there are a lot of people who love animals. I know there are a lot of people who would have been here for them,” Sherry said.
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