More than five months have passed since 176 cats and dogs found living in inhumane conditions were seized from The Leisure Cat Animal Rescue, a registered nonprofit animal rescue in Buda, TX.

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Five months since about 40 workers and volunteers spent late nights and weekends making sure every animal was accommodated and provided the proper medical care and attention at the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter.

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The San Marcos shelter reported in February that 56 cats and seven dogs from the rescue were adopted, and 70 cats and four dogs have been transferred to other organizations. Through the massive effort from the San Marcos shelter, volunteers and partner organizations, over 75% of the rescued animals have left the shelter, but others are still under medical treatment or await adoption.

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In a typical animal seizure case — which on average, occurs a few times a year — the San Marcos shelter might deal with 10 to 15 animals per case, according to animal services manager Kara Montiel.

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"Thirty animals would be considered a high number for a single case," said Montiel.

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Whenever an animal rescue case occurs, Montiel said she always expects to take in more than expected, but the Buda case was not just more, it was a lot more.

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The rescue

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The owners of the Leisure Cat rescue were taken into custody and charged with counts of child endangerment and animal cruelty. Melissa Caffey, 47, was charged with two counts of child endangerment and 10 counts of animal cruelty, while Thomas Caffey, 49, was charged with two counts of child endangerment. The pair were put behind bars under bonds totalling $40,000 last December.

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“Every area (the Buda sheriff's) went into, (they) just found more and more

animals,” Montiel said. “But that’s our role as a shelter … if anyone has a

case like that, we are here to take in animals.”

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Montiel said the day of the rescue, back in November 2018, was just like

any other afternoon, aside from the Hays County Sheriff's Department
vehicles outside of the residence.

 

"Every now and then neighbors would pass by to see what was going on,"
Montiel said.

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As far as how the San Marcos Shelter assisted at the TLC rescue, Montiel said the Hays County Sheriff's were the only ones to go inside the building. Montiel and four other San Marcos shelter employees waited outside to receive the animals.

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"I can't speak much to the condition inside the home, but what I remember significantly was the odor," Montiel said. "Every time an officer stepped outside of the house with an animal, they smelled horrible, it kind of just pushed you back."

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Montiel said the officers would spend a few minutes at a time inside the home collecting animals and the foul odor accompanied them. Officers wore masks to help reduce the smell, but it didn't help much. 

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Montiel said the rescue took several hours to complete. The seizure started in the afternoon and ended well into the evening.

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“Staff stayed until about midnight, and we (made sure) sure all of the animals were on-site and accounted for,” Montiel said. “It was overwhelming, but you know, it’s what we do.”

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The following days

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On a normal day, the shelter is not set up to receive a large number of animals at once, but Montiel said there was enough supplies and a plan set in stone for emergency sheltering situations.

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“There (were) enough supplies to last two or three days, but it changes depending on the length of time expected to house the animals in an emergency situation,” she said.

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Animals typically spend a minimum of 10 days in the shelter’s custody until a legal hearing is held.

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Some animals died due to poor health conditions. Seven cats and two dogs were euthanized by the shelter to minimize their suffering after the animals did not respond to repeated treatment while three other cats died in custody.

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“One cat in particular was very unstable on his feet and very thin the day of the rescue,” Montiel said. “We were immediately concerned about the survivability of the cat and (he) ended up passing away shortly after.”

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Montiel said several of the cats were exposed to histoplasmosis — a chronic, non-contagious fungal infection — while in the care of the TLC Rescue. The infection can be severe if not caught early.

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The 74 animals that were transferred to other organizations were sent to documented and verified shelters or rescues. Eleven cats, which were feral, were spayed or neutered, microchipped, vaccinated and released in areas where they are fed and free to roam as part of the shelter’s barn cat program, according to a press release from the shelter.

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How San Marcos compares nationally

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Texas is one of the largest hubs when it comes to receiving animals, according to Shelter Animals Count, an independent nonprofit which assembled data from participating animal shelters around the country and aggregates it for public use.

  

The San Marcos shelter is one of thousands of shelters who collaborate with SAC. Based on data provided by the San Marcos shelter, the shelter took in 3,871 cats and dogs in 2018, about 200 animals below the national average. But, Texas as a whole is far beyond the national average with an average gross intake —all animals brought in by the shelter — of 6,480 in 2018.

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Outside organizations to the rescue​

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Because of the massive admission of animals, the shelter sought aid from partner organizations like PAWS, but also reached out to outside

organizations like Animal Investigation and Response (AIR) and Red Rover. AIR is a volunteer-run organization based in Fort Worth

which supplies resources to agencies with an influx of animals from cruelty cases, like seizures or disaster situations.

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“We’re very different than a rescue group… we don’t have animals in our care 365 days a year,” said Monica Ailey, president of AIR and

animal cruelty investigator.

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AIR is made up of about 160 volunteers — referred to as responders — who have experience in handling animals in cruelty situations.

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“Our team knows how to approach a large number of animals in these

scenarios, as well as (dealing with) daily care, behavioral, emotional

and medical aid,” Ailey said.

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Ailey said AIR is sometimes contacted to assist law enforcement to help

with the investigation part of an animal abuse case, and sometimes

they’re called in prior to the seizure of animals.

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In the San Marcos case, AIR was contacted the night the animals were

seized and brought to the shelter.

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AIR brought a temporary shelter and cages for the animals to secure

an off-site location. When the cats were brought over, AIR volunteers

started administering aid in any way possible.

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Red Rover, a national animal welfare nonprofit organization

headquartered in Sacramento, provided a team to help with the daily

care of the cats — starting out in AIR’s temporary shelter — for a day or two before they were shipped out to the San Marcos shelter.

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Beth Gammie, director of field services for Red Rover, works in the responders’ program and led the team in San Marcos.

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Red Rover had worked with the San Marcos shelter before during the October floods in 2015, and understood the shelter was serious about their work from that experience.

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“In cases like this, being in a clean cage and having fresh food and water means a lot for these animals,” Gammie said.​​ “We helped feed the cats, cleaned the cages, and ended up giving baths to a good number of the animals.” 

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Currently, the shelter still has a small number of cats in their care who are up for adoption. Since February, the San Marcos shelter has held adoption promotions, lowering costs for animal adoptions during holidays and weekends, and holding mobile adoption events.

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For more information on the San Marcos Regional animal shelter or events, visit their Facebook page or website.