Remains of 240 Dogs Owned by Hoarder Finally Put to Rest

For decades, Judy Cahill hoarded and euthanized hundreds of dogs. Finally, some are being buried in a quiet, serene place with dignity.

In November 2009, animal hoarder Judy Cahill of Rockville, Maryland, was convicted of animal neglect in a shocking and disturbing case. Prosecutors say that during a 30-year period, the woman kept thousands of dogs at her home. According to the Huffington Post, she would place ads in the paper with offers to "rehome" dogs who needed an owner, then euthanize them. 

When authorities finally caught her, her home was covered in feces and full of crates with bent bars and trashcans full of dog carcases. Shelley Janashek was one of the first people to witness the devastation, and she was a witness against Cahill in the 2009 Montgomery County civil case. As they inspected the home they found the ashes of more 240 dogs. 

Janashek believes these were Cahill's "special" dogs, the ones she cared about enough to have cremated. Finally, four years after the gruesome discovery, the remains of these dogs finally got laid to rest in a peaceful, serene location, at the memorial park at the Baltimore Humane Society.

“Knowing they are at rest. That they weren't just sent to a trash dump, demolished along with the house -- that means something," said Janashek. 

Janashek presided over a funeral for the dogs at the park, who were buried in a plot donated by the Baltimore Humane Society. The grave will become a memorial to all the dogs who have suffered at the hands of Cahill.

Anne Lyon, who attended the funeral, told ABC2News.com, "I feel like I am doing something to pay homage to the animals and all the people who are making this possible, so that this can be an example for the people to know this kind of thing happens."

Janashek said that the number of dogs laid to rest represents a fraction of the total amount of dogs who died under Cahill. After discovering the ashes that remained, she held onto them for four years until she was able to secure a plot. 

"They are not trash,” Janashek said “They should not have been trash and they are not trash now. They are going to be buried in a beautiful place."

As for Cahill, she pleaded guilty and is barred from owning a dog for 10 years, and her name has been added to an online animal abuse database.

Via Huffington Post and ABC2News.com; photo via the Baltimore Humane Society Facebook unless otherwise noted

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Through hard times and homelessness, ‘The Bond’ remains

I saw the photo on the cover of the Coeur d’Alene Press before I read the story: A woman sitting on a bed, a cat beside her, a dog gazing at her face with unmistakable love on his.

“Homeless numbers stay consistent” was the headline, dry, emotionless words that seemed to conflict with what I saw in the despondent slump of the woman’s body, the concern in the attitude of her dog.

The story was about homeless statistics, but it was also about  Melissa Rogers, the woman in the photo. Rogers, it said, can’t work because of a disability, and was going to be kicked out of her room at the Cedars Motel within a week.  With pets and no money, I wondered, where could she go?

The following Sunday, Teresa and I went to the Cedars Motel and met Melissa, her son Brandon and their beloved 6-year-old Boxer, Sullivan, and their four cats, Smeagil, Booger, Pixie, and Hemi.

Melissa’s husband had left her three weeks before, and she had to move to a hotel that would accept pets. She has brittle diabetes and is starting dialysis. She just got out of the hospital for a blood clot. A certified nursing assistant who was an honor student in college studying psychology before falling on hard times, she’s permanently disabled and lives on a meager Social Security disability income.

Melissa’s love of her pets is obvious, and she’s struggled mightily to keep her pets’ preventive care current, address their medical needs and to buy food. She said she’s gone without so her pets wouldn’t suffer. As Teresa and I hugged her, she softly said, “My pets are the reason I get up every morning. I love them. Need them. As they do me.”

Dr. Bruce King, the owner of Lakewood Animal Hospital in Coeur d’Alene, where I practice, gave me a lot of dog and cat food to give her. He’s also agreed to donate dental work and vaccinations for a couple of the pets with a critical need. Teresa and I have paid her rent so she doesn’t need to worry about having to move.

It was on my heart today that while you can’t help everybody, you can help somebody. People who face hardship not only love their pets just as much as every one of us does, but sometimes the human-animal bond is the greatest, or even the only, sustaining force in their lives. A few bags of pet food, a few weeks’ rent, a visit to the veterinarian — there is so much we can do to honor The Bond, and keep love and hope alive in their hearts.

Photos:

Top: The article in the Coeur d’Alene Press where I first saw Melissa and her pets.

Middle: Sullivan, Melissa’s Boxer, gazing out the window as we left.

Bottom: Melissa, Sullivan and Brandon sitting with me on the stairs of her hotel.

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