http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/21/ap/strange/main2594750.shtml
Authorities Seize 26 Animals From A Couple Hoarding Them In California Motel Room
SANTA CRUZ, Calif., Mar. 21, 2007 (AP) Santa Cruz County authorities have confiscated more than two dozen animals from a couple who were hoarding them in their motel room they shared with two children. Staff of the downtown Santa Cruz motel went to the man and woman's room on Tuesday because they had not heard from the couple in more than a month. Inside they found 20 domestic birds, a cat and a rabbit. There was one dead bird in a cage and three others stuffed in the freezer.
"In this particular case, they also collected junk in addition to animals," said Todd Stosuy, animal control manager for the Santa Cruz County Animal Services Authority.
The couple, who shared the room with their two children, could face misdemeanor animal neglect charges, but they were not cited or arrested.
SAME STORY BELOW.....DIFFERENT NEWS SOURCE
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2007/March/22/local/stories/01local.htm
March 22, 2007
Santa Cruz
26 pets found in filthy Santa Cruz motel rooms
By Jennifer Squires
Sentinel staff writer SANTA CRUZ A Santa Cruz couple could face misdemeanor animal neglect charges for keeping 26 pets alive and dead in the two Ocean Street motel rooms they shared with their three children.
On Tuesday, Animal Services officers found exotic birds, a rabbit, a malnourished cat and four dead birds amid the animal feces, rotting food and trash that littered the second-story rooms at Motel Santa Cruz. The jam-packed rooms were also home to a couple and their three children.
"Everyone living in that environment was suffering, just through the stagnate air and the junk," Animal Services supervisor Todd Stosuy said. "The stench was overwhelming"
Staff at the motel tipped off county Animal Services officers Tuesday after discovering the filthy menagerie when they went to check on the family. The parents and their children had lived at the motel for more than two years, but motel staff hadn't heard from them in about a month and got worried.