Two ladies in Canandaigua, New York, had been charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty in early December after police found 4 lifeless cats in a freezer and 17 different animals inside their “uninhabitable” residence.
The Ontario County Humane Society introduced on December 3 that they and the Ontario County Sheriff’s Workplace rescued 17 animals from a property on December 2, together with 14 canines and three cats. All the rescued animals had been taken to a neighborhood veterinarian for pressing medical care as soon as they had been faraway from the house.
The canines included a terrier, a spaniel and pit bull mixes of assorted ages.
The animal shelter stated that Sheila LaFleur and Robin Burr, who each stay within the residence, had been arrested and every charged with a misdemeanor for animal cruelty, based on the put up. LaFleur, 63, and Robin, 61, had been later launched on bond, based on native officers.
The Sheriff’s Workplace realized concerning the inhumane residing state of affairs after they acquired an animal neglect grievance that “expressed considerations about unsanitary situations and lack of medical look after animals on the residence” from somebody who had not too long ago picked up two canines that had been fostered on the property.
Native officers obtained a search warrant for the deal with and located the animals in want, they usually finally took the 14 canines into police custody.
“Some canines had been discovered confined in metallic cages, whereas others roamed freely inside the residence,” the Humane Society stated within the assertion. “Moreover, three cats had been rescued. Tragically, 4 deceased cats had been found inside a kitchen freezer.”
The 4 lifeless cats had been taken to the Cornell Animal Diagnostic Middle, the place necropsies can be carried out in an effort to decide their reason behind dying, per the Humane Society.
“Preliminary assessments revealed that the canines and cats had been flea ridden, affected by fur loss, [had] dental points, and ear infections,” the Humane Society stated within the assertion, referring to the animals’ checkups on the veterinarian. “All are at present receiving ongoing medical consideration.”
Moreover, the shelter added that the City of Canandaigua Code Enforcement Officer had “deemed the residence uninhabitable as a result of extreme hoarding situations.”
LaFleur and Burr are each set to look in courtroom to face their expenses, based on The Finger Lake Occasions, WHAM, and WHEC. It isn’t at present clear if they’ve entered pleas or obtained authorized illustration right now.
The Ontario County Sheriff’s Workplace didn’t instantly reply to Us Weekly’s request for remark.
2025 has been a busy yr for the Ontario County Humane Society. Director Kurt Koczent advised CNY Central that they’ve seemed into 1,050 instances with “huge” points previously yr.
The company has taken in 270 animals in 2025 as of early December, whereas its animal management officers have made 31 arrests. Koczent defined that 4 of these instances had been hoarding instances. This previous yr has seen a rise in animal neglect points, as solely 207 animals had been taken in, and officers solely made 30 arrests in 2024.
“A few of them are simply ‘Our neighbor’s canine is barking, are you able to please examine?’ And naturally, that’s not unlawful,” Koczent stated of a number of the calls the humane society has acquired. “Others are actually horrific hoarding instances the place the homes then develop into condemned.”


