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Hoarding 46 cats, one dead in freezer
Torrington, CT (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Feb 15, 2006
County: Litchfield
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Christine M. Koczur
Case Updates: 3 update(s) available
Dozens of cats have been removed from a home in Torrington that doubled as a shelter. Investigators responded to the home after reports that animals were being neglected.
The Department of Agriculture along with police and animal control officers raided the house and removed 45 cats that they say were neglected and suffering. The complaint against this animal shelter and its president came in a month ago: an accusation that many cats were sick and dying here and there were flea nests throughout the home, in the couch, bed, and even in the hair of the woman who lives here and runs the shelter: Christine Koczur.
Today, investigators seized 45 cats; one was dead, stored in a freezer. And while the Department of Agriculture says they took these drastic measures because the cats were neglected, a Norwich veterinarian visited the house yesterday and appears to disagree.
In a letter Dr. Edward Dimmick sent to the Department of Agriculture, he wrote that he found "all animals are provided with sufficient food and water, sanitation is satisfactory."
Christine Koczur has not been charged with any crimes, but the investigation is not over. Tonight her cats are staying in local animal shelters.
Case UpdatesChristine Koczur is appealing a civil court judge's decision to get back her 40 cats seized in February by state animal control officers.
Koczur, 2470 Newfield Road, filed documents in the Appellate Court in Hartford on Tuesday disputing Judge Robert Hale's Nov. 1 decision.
Hale said Koczur, the head of Torrington-based Alliance for Animal Rescue, was not cruel in her treatment of the cats, but negligent. He awarded ownership of the animals to the state and ordered Koczur to pay $15 per day per animal and to pay for veterinary bills reported at $6,248 in his decision.
The animals have been housed by shelters in Harwinton, East Haven and North Haven, and Milford since the seizure.
Koczur is also facing criminal charges in a case pending in Bantam Superior Court on Tuesday on 47 counts of cruelty to animals, 20 counts of failing to vaccinate, illegal possession of cat serums without a permit and practicing veterinary medicine without a license.
Koczur and her attorney, Michael Merati, appeared in Bantam on Tuesday, but the case was not resolved.
"The state is still prosecuting the case," Assistant State's Attorney Cindy Palermo said.
Palermo said she doesn't expect the civil appeal to cause a delay in the criminal case.
Koczur is scheduled to return to the Bantam court Nov. 28.
The animal control division of the state Department of Agriculture was notified by Alliance members in January that Koczur was allegedly hoarding 50 to 60 cats in her single-family home. Forty-six cats were seized and a dead cat was found in the freezer, according to the arrest warrant.
Torrington health officials determined Koczur's house was unsanitary in January. Feces and dried-up urine were allegedly scattered on the floor and shelves, and near the feeding dishes. Not enough food was available for the animals, the house was cluttered with debris and 10 open bags of raw garbage were inside the house, according to Hale's decision.
The animals suffered ear mite infestation, upper respiratory infections, conjunctivitis, poor or no teeth, tapeworms, symptoms of bartonella, and feline infectious perintonitis, according to the decision.
Merati said during past interviews that the cats were Koczur's personal pets, not animals rescued by the organization. | Source: Register Citizen - Nov 23, 2006
Update posted on Nov 23, 2006 - 12:08PM |
A Torrington animal rescue agent accused of animal cruelty was arraigned March 20, 2006 in Bantam Superior Court. Christine Koc-zur, 36, 2470 Newfield Road, Torrington appe-ared in court with her attorney Michael Merati before Judge Heidi Winslow.
She faces 47 counts of cruelty to animals, 20 counts of failing to vaccinate illegal possession of cat serums without a permit, and practicing veterinary medicine without a license. Koczur's case is not one of intentional cruelty or negligence, Merati said after the hearing, but a case of a woman merely trying to help the animals that were too sick for adoption. "Here is this person trying to save cats and they are charging her with cruelty," Merati said. "It seems to be quite unfair to have someone like Ms. Koczur, who spends her time nurturing sick animals, to be treated this way. It makes no sense." Koczur is fighting to keep the animals that were seized by the state from her home. On March 27, 2006 she and Merati are scheduled to attend a hearing about the ownership of the cats.
"They are her cats and that is her goal to get the cats back," he said. Koczur is scheduled to appear again in Bantam Superior Court on April 19, 2006.
The animals were living in an overcrowded, single-family home and were found to be dirty, thin, with various degrees of poor dental health, upper respiratory infections, ear mites, fleas, tapeworms and diarrhea, according to an arrest warrant prepared by Officer Richard Gregan, of the Department of Agriculture Bureau of Regulation and Inspection, Animal Control Division. Gregan was alerted to the situation after a former volunteer for the Alliance for Animal Rescue Society, Lauri Buccieri, complained Koczur was fostering 50 to 60 cats in her home that were sick and dying because Koczur was unable to handle so many. "She was so used to them," Buccieri, 28, said. "She was not taking care of them and their health vaccinations." Buccieri worked as a volunteer with Koczur for two years and joined fellow volunteer Melanie Mead and two others in making the complaint after Koczur allegedly told them of the conditions in the home. "We are animal rescuers," Mead, 28, said. "We would have done this to our own families." Mead and Buccieri said they were not being malicious in making the complaint and they believe Koczur had good intentions, but was in over her head with the number of cats. "She would not stop," Buccieri said. "She would always make an excuse." Buccieri said Koczur's need to get more cats was "like an addiction" even though she told both women she lacked the money to take care of them. Mead said she did feel guilty that some of the cats taken might have to be euthanized, but they are now in a better place. "The way I look at it, we saved 46 cats," Mead said. "They were suffering there." Buccieri said she realizes how horrible this must be for Koczur, but feels she did the right thing. "She is so overwhelmed," Buccieri said. "People have the wrong idea why we did this." Merati disagreed with the complaint, pointing out that a veterinarian, Dr. Edward Dimmick of Norwich, traveled frequently to Koczur's home to provide examinations and vaccinations. "He was there the day before they were taken," Merati said. Mead said their responsibility came down to the animals in the end. "We're the voice of these animals. They can't speak for themselves," Mead said. | Source: The Register Citizen - March 21, 2006
Update posted on Mar 22, 2006 - 5:54PM |
The owner of an animal rescue unit turned herself in to police on animal cruelty-related charges.
Alliance for Animal Rescue Society owner, Christine Koczur, 36, of 2470 Newfield Road, was charged with 47 counts of cruelty to animals, possession of vaccine and serums for cats, practicing veterinary medicine without a license, and 20 counts of failure to vaccinate for rabies at 5 p.m. on March 9, according to police reports.
Koczur turned herself in to Torrington police on an outstanding arrest warrant issued by the state Department of Agriculture, according to the report.
The Department of Agriculture officers raided Koczur's home on a search and seizure warrant at about 11 a.m. on Feb. 15, Commissioner Philip Prelli said after the raid.
One dead cat was found in the freezer and 45 cats were seized during the raid, Prelli had said.
Former animal rescue volunteers Melanie Mead and Lauri Buccieri had said they complained to state investigators sometime in January that Koczur had about 50, or more, sick cats in her home.
According to the warrant, Mead and Buccieri said Koczur complained that she did not have enough money to provide proper medical attention.
According to police reports Koczur was released on a $500 non-surety bond and is scheduled to appear in Bantam Superior Court on March 20. | Source: The Register Citizen - March 11, 2006
Update posted on Mar 12, 2006 - 3:08PM |
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