These Are All The People Banned From Having Pets In WNY

A woman here in New York has been arrested and almost 300 sick and injured animals were seized from her home. The heartbreaking incident happened recently in Long, Island. According to Fox 5, on Tuesday, October 18, 2022, animal services employees began to clear the animals from the woman's Miller Place home. Officials say the house was infested with cockroaches, mites, and lice. The animals that the woman was hoarding included cats, birds, rabbits, snakes and even tortoises. Jed Painter, Bureau Chief of the Suffolk County District Attorney's Biological Environmental and Animal Safety Team, told Fox 5,

You have to wear personal protective equipment because the air is noxious, deep scent of ammonia. You've got situations where the cages are stacked so animals can urinate and defecate on animals below. You're going to have things like conjunctivitis, hair loss, urine stains, unhealed injuries, scars and spring.

Police arrested the 51-year-old woman, Karin Keyes, who is a licensed social worker. The abuse and neglect was discovered after she asked some of her clients to take care of the animals while she was away. Thankfully, the notified the ASPCA.

Keyes story is a cautionary tale about wanting to help animals but hurthing them instead. Closer to home, unfortunately, there are quite a few people who have also abused or neglected animals. While the authorities don't give the specifics of each situation, I imagine that at least one of the people beloe got themselves into a situation like Keyes. Her friends told police that she wanted to help the animals, but got overwhelmed. Her intentions may have been good, but ultimately she ended up causing pain and suffering for the animals in her care. It's especially cruel to abuse animals - they can't pick up the phone and call for help.

Each of the people below has been convicted of animal abuse here in Western New York and are now registered. They are legally not permitted to own or care for animals.