Pets saved from Woodhaven house

About 40 dogs, cats and birds are in healthy condition after being removed from the home of a Woodhaven woman suffering from dementia.
On Thursday, August 16, officers from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) responded to complaints of loud barking and the smell of urine and feces coming from the 75th Street home of Ida Hemmerich, 83. ASPCA investigators found and removed about 30 dogs, 10 cats and four parrots from Hemmerich’s unsanitary dwelling.
It was the second time in the last month that ASPCA officials had visited Hemmerich, who, they said, loved her animals very much. After the first meeting, on July 21, officers reported that all animals were doing fine.
But that may have been because at the time, Hemmerich had a little help.
Her son, Edward, had been living with and caring for his mother, who has since been admitted to Jamaica Hospital for observation for dementia. Edward had also been caring for the animals.
On Monday, August 13, however, Edward fell sick and was taken to the hospital, leaving Hemmerich to deal with her pets alone.
When neighbors noticed the odors and heard the barking, they called animal-control authorities, who decided a shelter would be the best place for the pets. A daughter volunteered to care for the animals, but authorities decided to put them in a shelter while a final decision is negotiated.
Included among the dogs was a two-month-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel, as well as pure-bred dachshunds, Chihuahuas, and Yorkshire terriers.
“[The house was] very smelly,” said ASPCA Special Investigator Annemarie Lucas in a published report. “You don’t last very long when you go in there…the animals were in very good shape. [Hemmerich] loved these animals very, very much. They were her life.”
Officials say Hemmerich will not be charged with any crime.