Citizen Staff Writer
RYN GARGULINSKI
rynski@tucsoncitizen.com
A Polish chicken, mangy doves and crippled finches were among the bevy of birds and cache of cats found living in squalor last week in a Southwest Side trailer.
Pima Animal Care Center discovered the 39 birds and 43 cats after responding to a complaint about sickening conditions in and around the residence.
“There was a lot of animal waste inside the place, multiple cats and animal waste,” said PACC spokeswoman Jane Cundy.
The animals’ owners, who are not being identified because no citations have yet been issued, relinquished all of the birds and 42 of the cats.
Cundy said the owners were allowed to keep one cat and their two dogs, provided they make the mandated improvements to the property.
All 42 relinquished cats had to be euthanized, while the birds were turned over to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, said society spokeswoman Sheena Stewart.
Three finches that had broken or missing legs had to be euthanized, Stewart said. The 10 severely malnourished, balding doves, along with the 16 cockatiels, eight parakeets and other birds are being treated by the society’s veterinary staff.
Some of them – including the Polish chicken, best known for its elaborate crest of feathers atop its head – could be available for adoption as soon as this weekend, she said.
Prices will be $50 for the cockatiels; $25 for the parakeets; and $5 for the doves and Polish chicken.
The investigation continues, but a subsequent site visit proved the owners were following orders.
“A lot of improvements were made to the property,” Cundy said. “We are still working with the owners.”
“Hoarding in general is just horrific,” Stewart said. “It’s sad for the animals. Having 80-plus animals in a small, confined area is bound to (invite) disease.
“You simply can’t care for that many animals. It’s really inhumane.”
Birds seized from Southwest Side trailer to be available for adoption