OWEN COUNTY, Ind. (WTHR) - The Owen County Humane Society is asking for help after saving more than 80 animals in Owen County.
They are used to seeing dogs and cats at the humane society, but this is outside of their normal operation.
“When the sheriff's department calls and we're like ‘oh my God we don't know what we are going to do’ we say yes and we figure it out,” said Becky Brown.
The result? Rabbits, pigs, cats, dogs, chickens and even goats, 83 animals in all, taken from an Owen County property in a case of massive hoarding.
“This was up there, as bad as I have ever seen,” said Brown.
Deputies were initially called on a theft investigation when they found the pets and livestock. Tonia Torres and Evan Vanbibber were arrested.
Fortunately, all of the animals are expected to survive.
“Most of the animals weren't at risk of dying immediately. I am kind of surprised with the heat that we have had and their confined location. They were under a shaded area so that's why they probably didn't die of heat stroke,” Brown told us.
The challenge now is caring for them, especially the pigs, which have to be spayed and neutered before they can be set for foster care. It’s not cheap.
“The average pig spay is about $232 dollars. An average pig neuters is about $132 dollars. They are substantially higher than dog and cat neuters so that's what we are working on now is to raise the $4,800 vet bill to get all the pigs spayed and neutered.
Both suspects face charges in connection to theft. Torres was also charged with neglect and abandonment of animals.
The Owen County Humane Society is now reaching out to the community for donations. Those donations can be made toward the agency's account at Edwards Farm Supply in Spencer, or directly to the humane society's PayPal account, which uses the email address owendogscats@gmail.com to help pay for veterinarian services. Checks can be mailed to the Owen County Humane Society, 2014 Romona Road, Spencer, IN 47460.
Donations of bleach and paper towels are also requested.