BY CMDR. CHRIS ROSS
Los Alamos Police Department

As some of you may know, Los Alamos County Animal Shelter has been without cats for adoption for some time. This is thanks to our amazing community’s support of spay and neuter efforts, which have helped prevent an overpopulation of kittens and puppies. This has allowed our shelter to reach out to other animal shelters and rescue groups in need of clearing out space to help their own communities.

In this case, we were able to connect with what we believed to be a legitimate rescue in Texas that was in need of help with cats trying to find their forever homes, and we decided to facilitate a transfer. Per our agreement, all animals transferred into our facility must be fully vaccinated and vetted before intake. The rescue group we worked with—whose name we will not mention—provided proof of vaccinations and vetting.

However, on the day of intake, the cats appeared to be sneezing. We were not aware of an upper respiratory infection at that time, and the rescue group attributed it to allergies and or the travel-related stress.

After a few days in our shelter, all the cats showed signs of an upper respiratory infection, and one had to be taken immediately to an emergency vet in Santa Fe, NM. The cat was hospitalized overnight and survived. After several veterinary visits with the Animal Clinic of Los Alamos, Cottonwood Veterinarian and Mosaic Emergency Vet, all the cats are still being treated for severe Pneumonia and Upper respiratory infection.

Based on what we found here at our shelter, our Animal Control Officers contacted Garland Animal Services to inform them of the situation. Animal Control found out there was a possibility of a hoarding situation involving over 100 cats in a single residence.

The linked post includes their findings:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Fii6qXJEa/
https://www.fox4news.com/news/64-cats-seized-from-garland-home
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GtHievHLk/

We would like to sincerely thank the Los Alamos Animal Control for bringing to light the situation; Also, Garland Animal Services and their Animal Cruelty Investigation Team, along with the Garland Police Department and the SPCA of Texas, for their swift response and dedication. The hard work and compassion shown by everyone involved in responding to and caring for the animals at that property are truly admirable.