Florida animal rescue worker hoarded 63 cats in her apartment. She’s now accussed of animal cruelty.
A former animal rescue worker in Florida is charged with nine felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty for hoarding dozens of cats in her home.
In early June, Michelline Toulouse, 36, was accused of stealing money from her job at Saving Sage Animal Rescue in Fort Lauderdale.
A colleague from the rescue then went to Toulouse’s apartment in Sunrise to check in on her, WPLG reported. Inside the home were over 50 malnourished cats, including at least 10 that were dead.
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In an arrest report, according to WPLG, officers noted the “infliction of unnecessary pain and suffering to 63 cats by housing them inside of an abandoned, closed residence…exposing them to feces and urine with no exchange of air and depriving them of necessary sustenance."
“We are saddened but relieved that Michelline has been arrested and will be prosecuted and held accountable for her crimes for the horrible neglect the animals in her possession have suffered,” Saving Sage Animal Rescue said in a statement. “It is unimaginable that a fellow rescuer would be responsible for such horrors.”
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