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By MIKE WELLS The Tampa Tribune
RANDON - When Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputies knocked on a Dover woman’s door Tuesday to investigate a claim of elderly abuse, they found not only her ailing 86-year-old mother but also 21 dogs and three birds living in filth, officials said.
Virginia Gayle Brewer, 51, of 13635 U.S. 92 E., faces 24 counts of animal cruelty and one count of elderly neglect.
Deputies said the sheer volume of animal waste in the house created a health danger that required they wear masks while inside. The northwest corner of the house had partially collapsed, allowing in insects, water and plants.
“It had collapsed enough that you could see the inside from the outside and there was no air conditioning,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.
Brewer’s mother had sores and was unclean, deputies said.
She was removed from the home by the Department of Children and Families and taken to a hospital for an examination, Carter said.
Brewer told deputies that she didn’t know how many dogs lived in the home, investigators said.
Most had urine burns on their paws and abdomens and some had nasal and eye infections, the arrest report states. The bird cages and the food and water bowls contained waste, parasites and dead pests, according to the report.
No veterinary records were found in the home, Hillsborough County Animal Services spokeswoman Marti Ryan said.
The dogs were Pomeranians or mixes.
Ryan said they suffered anemia brought on by parasites and that some had fecal matter matted in their fur.
All of the dogs and birds that were seized on Tuesday, and an additional dog and a cat that were found by code enforcement officers Wednesday on a return visit, remain at the county’s shelter on Falkenburg Road awaiting veterinary evaluations.
“We’re pretty hopeful,” Ryan said of adoptions. “They’re not socialized. There were so many of them in such rough conditions that they were already demonstrating pack behavior with aggression.”
Investigators don’t believe Brewer was operating a Pomeranian puppy mill.
“Our initial sense is that she’s just a collector and was not breeding them for sale,” Ryan said. “But certainly things were getting out of hand. There was no quality of life for the animals at all.”
Brewer was released from Orient Road Jail early Wednesday after posting a $55,000 bail.
For information or to report animal cruelty and neglect, contact Hillsborough County Animal Services at 744-5660.
The story about Virginia Brewer, who neglected her animals and her mother, seemed to put more emphasis on the neglect of the animals than it did on the neglect of the elderly mother.
At the very least you should have included information on how to report abuse/neglect/exploitation of elderly and disabled adults along with the information on how to report animal abuse/neglect. The statewide hotline for reporting A/N/E of our most vulnerable citizens (children, elderly and the disabled) is 1 800 96ABUSE (1 800 962-2873) I think you should add this info to your web site story and include it in future broadcasts.
Now where’s Pam Bondi when she’s needed?
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Posted by Michele Wilson, New Port Richey, FL on 06/29 at 07:04 AM
I cannot agree with you more, Mitchell. I, too, noticed that elderly abuse, which should have been the focus of the piece with the animals as a side focus, was completely glossed over. The only thing I can imagine, to give the reporters the benefit of the doubt, is that the elderly mother was somewhate capable and possibly neglegent herself, OR that there were some major privacy issues as you notice they never showed the mother herself. Thanks for providing such vital information that should have been available last night.