Not to beat a stiffened mound of 125 euthanized cats into the ground, but the Star Tribune is running a follow up to a recent cat hoarding story, and a couple of quotes are just too priceless to pass up:
St. Anthony cat hoarders charged with animal cruelty
A husband and wife were charged with animal cruelty and other misdemeanors Tuesday stemming from the removal and euthanization of 125 cats from their home in St. Anthony last month.
The husband, Bob Saladis, 58, said Tuesday night that he looks forward to telling his side of the story and is upset that the media “blows it all out of proportion.”
“They act like we were Iraqi terrorists or something,” he said. “It is just something that happened.”
When police entered their mobile home at 2501 Lowry Av. on Feb. 9, they were overwhelmed by the stench from mounds of debris and feces. The home was packed with dolls and cats, officials said.
Keith Streff, a senior humane investigator, said Cheryl Saladis, 53, fit the profile of an obsessive-compulsive animal hoarder. He said the society, based in Golden Valley, removed 72 cats from the couple’s home in Coon Rapids in 2002.
Bob Saladis said that they have since found a new home and that treatment helped his wife a little.
“She just likes animals,” he said. “Sometimes everybody gets carried away with something.” But his wife wants to change, he said.
“It’s just something that happened.”
My friends, losing your keys is just something that happens. Putting on 5 pounds over the holidays is just something that happens. Packing your trailer home with 125 cats and stuffed dolls is not something that just happens, unless you happen to be living in a Tim Burton movie.
“Sometimes everybody gets carried away with something.”
Yes, and most of the time, when that “something” reaches the point of your home being soaked in cat urine to the point where neighbor’s eyes begin to sting, you cut back a little bit. You assess, and wonder if perhaps a miscalculation was made along the way, say when your bedroom and bathroom became unusuable due to the fact that they’re completely filled with dolls and feral cats.
Good luck on the new home, though. I hope it doesn’t somehow end up being filled with dozens of cats again. Weird how that keeps happening…
I just read this in the paper over my lunch. I was hoping you’d cover it on your blog too! I was not disappointed.