200 Animals (from cats to voles) and a 95-Year-Old Are Found Inside a Squalid Suburban Home

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/nyregion/long-island-animal-hoarding-charges.html?unlocked_article_code=1.r08.KqFQ.VEWMiCbMCj_7&smid=url-share


Armed with a tip and a warrant, detectives showed up at a house in Northport, N.Y., last week and found more than 200 animals living in squalor.

There were pets like cats, dogs, parrots and hamsters, and an exotic menagerie including hedgehogs, chinchillas and flying squirrels. Most of them were in cages strewed with waste, in a house infested with insects and so full of trash and debris that some areas were impassable, the authorities said.

On the second floor, it got worse.

The police came upon a 95-year-old woman so hemmed in by clutter that she was essentially trapped inside her room, investigators said.

The police arrested Samantha Boyd, 57, a wildlife rehabilitator. District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney of Suffolk County called the case “a deeply distressing situation.



John Di Leonardo, a wildlife rehabilitator who runs a rescue and advocacy nonprofit, Humane Long Island, said it was his complaint that got the authorities to respond. He said he grew suspicious after seeing online postings by Ms. Boyd about rescued animals she was not licensed to keep, like crows and mallard ducks. Upon stopping by the home, he said, “It smelled like a hoarder house.” He added, “There were red flags all over, lots of clutter and wildlife on the property.”

[delisen]

1. Sad situation but I find Leonardo's statements/behavior disturbing.

I would applaud him only for noting the legal issue re wildlife and contacting authorities.