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On Tuesday afternoon, when 92 chow chow dogs were discovered caged, cramped and filthy in a small ranch house at 87 Linda Ave., just off Old Philadelphia Pike, this curious mental disorder suddenly became vividly real.
During an afternoon raid at Terri Palmer-Roby's house by the state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement, East Lampeter Township Police, and Humane League of Lancaster County, chows were discovered all over the house, in the basement, in the garage and even in a car.
Two dead and decaying dogs were found among the 92 caged dogs living in inches of their own waste, some suffering from open wounds, emaciation, severe matting and illness.
"One dog could barely move — they thought it was dead," said Megan Gallagher-Clark, vice president of development at the League.
And yet everyone agrees Palmer-Roby had a noble mission — founding in her own home Pendragwn Chow Chow Rescue, a shelter for homeless members of this ancient Chinese breed that resemble lions and feature a signature blue/black tongue.
How Palmer-Roby ended up facing a half dozen charges of animal neglect is the missing piece.
"The interesting thing about this isn't just the novelty of 90 big dogs living in this house — what it's really about is mental illness," Gallagher-Clark said.
Before Tuesday's raid, Palmer-Roby was a friend of the League and other area kill shelters from which she adopted chows in hope of rehabilitating them and adopting them into permanent homes.
But eventually the League heard rumors that Palmer-Roby's mission might have veered off course. She tended to meet others on their turf, so no one knew how many dogs had ended up at her Linda Avenue home.
"She was good at avoidance," said League vice president of operations Kerry Flanagan. "Some shelters sent her dogs as recently as two weeks ago, but we stopped sending her dogs about six months ago when we first heard complaints from her neighbors. We tried to investigate, but she wouldn't allow us access to her property at the time. She showed our officer some of the dogs, but we didn't have grounds to get a warrant."
Flanagan said Tuesday's raid on the property was the result of an investigation by the state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement, which enforces a state law requiring anyone keeping more than 24 dogs to obtain a license. Palmer-Roby was not licensed, but Pendragwn Chow Chow Rescue was advertising online well over 24 chows for adoption, giving the Bureau cause to investigate.
"I don't think anybody knew," Flanagan said. "Some people had concerns, but nobody wanted to assume the worst. We all wanted to assume the best. I think she had good intentions, but as typically happens in hoarding situations, (Palmer-Roby) felt she was saving the animals without realizing she was doing more harm than good."
Palmer-Roby signed over custody of the 92 dogs to the Humane League. Flanagan said 11 of the dogs, including a mother and two puppies, were co-owned by other people, who were contacted by the League to collect them.
Six League staff members removed the dogs from the home in shifts Tuesday. Some will be farmed out to shelters in Berks, York, Bucks and Montgomery counties.
Flanagan said four dogs suffering severe emaciation and mange were euthanized; one of those dogs also had two broken back legs; another had one broken back leg.
All the dogs are being assessed for temperament, health and adoption potential. Some could be available as early as Friday, but Flanagan said about half those taken from the home appear unsocialized and fearful.
"We're just doing what we can to find good placement for these animals," Flanagan said. "It's just sad because she seemed like a very dedicated dog rescuer. Hoarding is a diagnosed mental illness. I don't think she did this intentionally or because she didn't care about the dogs. She cared about them too much that she wasn't willing to let them go, and she got overwhelmed."
Gallagher-Clark said that's not uncommon in animal hoarding cases. Neither is resumption of hoarding once the attention is over.
In 1999, a study of 54 hoarders by veterinarian Gary Patronek appeared in the January/February issue of Public Health Reports. The study revealed that:
• Three-quarters of hoarders were female and three-quarters were single, widowed or divorced.
• More than half lived alone.
• In 80 percent of the cases, some animals were found dead.
• In 38 of 49 cases involving home inspections, premises were described as heavily cluttered or unsanitary.
• Cases were often difficult to resolve, even after the animals were removed from the home.
• Resumption of hoarding was common.
"It's hard to deal with," Gallagher-Clark said. "You prosecute these people with misdemeanors and summaries, and the majority of them do it again because they don't see it for what it is. They don't see it as a mental illness."
By Wednesday, Internet links to Pendragwn were already dead and the League was reconsidering its policy for screening rescue organizations. And at least some of the dogs are adjusting, again, to a new, unstable situation.
"These dogs are all going to other shelters and rescues," Gallagher-Clark said. "And now they'll have a chance, whereas before they were all just wallowing in filth in that house."
E-mail: slindt@lnpnews.com
Dogs seized from home
