WILSON, N.Y. (WIVB) —A couple from Niagara County faces charges after the SPCA raided their home on Tuesday. The Niagara County SPCA found hundreds of animals, about a dozen were dead.
News 4 watched as boxes filled with snakes and cages of exotic birds were carried out of 3374 Beebe Rd. in Wilson. Niagara County Sheriff’s Deputies and the DEC were also on scene.
Niagara County SPCA Executive Director Amy Lewis said they acted on a tip.
SPCA investigator Lauren Zaninovich went to the home around 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday and the homeowner let the her inside. When Zaninovich started asking questions she was asked to leave. She got a warrant and returned to the home around 4:00 p.m., according to Lewis.
“I’ve never gotten a frantic call from my investigator before,” said Lewis. “She called me and said we need you here right now because this is really bad.”
They discovered more than 250 rats, 68 snakes, and about 30 birds bad conditions.
“My mind was going 100 miles a minute, there were animals everywhere,” said Zaninovich. “I knew we had to act fast.”
The SPCA showed News 4 pictures of decaying animals inside some of the cages.
“Many of the snakes were living in totes, very, very small totes that you’d leave your shoes in,” said Lewis. “The birds, their cages were filthy. There were deceased birds in their water dishes so very bad conditions for the animals.”
About a dozen of the animals were dead.
Lewis told News 4 that a younger woman, who is not the homeowner, intended on selling all but five of the snakes through the business she runs.
The SPCA also removed two miniature pigs, which were being housed in small dog crates and were covered in their own feces. More than a dozen cats were also taken from the home.
“What I found particularly disturbing and I was really, really upset about [..] there was a small enclosure in the back about two foot by four foot by three foot high that housed 15 cats,” said Lewis.
The animals were transported to the SPCA on Lockport Rd.
Lewis said a couple of the animals had to be euthanized because of medical problems. She told News 4 that will be a factor in how many animal cruelty charges there are in this case.
They have charges pending against the owners, she said, but the charges haven’t been filed officially yet. Lewis expects they will pursue misdemeanor charges for failing to provide for the animals.
The animals at the SPCA will be available for adoption. The SPCA is asking the public to donate aquariums, tanks or other enclosures to help them house the animals. They received about a dozen donations on Wednesday.
Lewis said the SPCA plans to return to the home on Friday to check on the farm animals.
“None of the farm animals from what we could see last night were in any kind of immediate danger, with the exception of the two piglets we removed,” said Lewis. “The others, their stalls appeared to be relatively clean, there was feed and water available to them but we’re going to want to go back and look at the physical condition of the animals.”
Lewis told News 4 they have been called to the home in the past but didn’t see anything that would indicate the poor conditions they discovered.
The DEC issued Robyn Dawe, 59, two tickets for failing to check traps and said in a statement, “additional wildlife possession charges may be pending following the identification of recovered snakes and birds.”
The DEC said it responded to the scene to investigate a complaint of two dead opossums in traps and a sickly fox in a cage. Officers discovered two dead opossums in traps outside the house. They also found two ranch foxes, one was dead and one was alive. The fox has been transferred to a “licensed rehabilitator”, according to the DEC.
After the raid, Niagara County Sheriff’s deputies told News 4 Thomas Dawe, 69, and Robyn Dawe were charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Three minors were removed from the home because of the conditions. Sheriff James Voutour said the minors range in age from 14 years old to 17 years old.
The couple will appear in Wilson Town Court on Dec. 13 for those charges.
Sheriff Voutour told News 4 there have been three calls to that house since Oct. because miniature horses were in the road. He said the Sheriff’s Office didn’t have a reason at that time to go on the property.
