A Florida woman was arrested after authorities learned she was “hoarding” dozens of cats and dogs in her home.
Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek confirmed that Gail Giustino was arrested and charged with two misdemeanors of animal cruelty and confining an animal without sufficient food or water during a press conference on Monday, July 20.
Officers initially learned of the situation when they received a report about a female postal service worker who was allegedly “stealing or collecting cats along her route.” Budensiek said that officers responded to her home, where they learned that Giustino, 77, had been “collecting feral cats.”
Giustino was uncooperative for over a week and was unwilling to speak to officers about the animals she had in her home. After failing to get any answers, officers executed a search of her house.
While going through the home, officers discovered dozens of animals that included cats and dogs living in “horrific” conditions. The home was so dirty that a hazmat team was deployed, and Budensiek said that some portions of the home had “a foot of animal feces” piled up.
Giustino later admitted to authorities that she had “at least 70 cats” and an “unknown” number of dogs at her home, and Budensiek said that she may have “taken up to 20 animals” to different facilities in Martin County.
Budensiek said during the press conference that this was clearly a “hoarder scenario” and said it was the “worst case of animal hoarding that I’ve seen in Martin County.”
Budensiek went on to say that he didn’t believe Giustino was “an animal abuser,” but that she was trying to do “the right thing” for the animals in the “wrong way.”
“The goal of arresting her was to be able to seize the animals to save them from death,” he continued before noting that officers “could have charged her with 160 counts, two counts per animal” but they only charged her “with two counts.”
Giustino has a history of legal issues regarding animals, and she was previously issued “up to 65 citations” in the past for confining different types of animals at her home.
Code enforcement previously got involved at one point and helped Giustino navigate some of the problems, which included installing air conditioning and removing trash that prevented entry into the home. Budensiek added that the help didn’t last long and “she has slipped back in her old habits” in the past 10 years.
Budensiek concluded that he hopes Giustino can get the help she needs as her case goes to court.
“What we want to happen is that she doesn’t get animals back, or she can only have one or two,” he said. “And then we want her to go through the mental health court process to get her some kind of an evaluation and see where she is.”
It is not currently clear if Giustino has entered a plea or retained legal counsel following her arrest.
If you know of or suspect animal abuse or neglect, you are urged to contact the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals through their website or call your local animal control officer.
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