According to Greater Long Island, authorities in Northport were called in to investigate claims of animal abuse at a couple's home. The Tierney's Biological, Environmental, and Animal Safety Team (BEAST) executed a warrant in the early morning hours.
Inside BEAST found a menagerie of more than 200 animals living in filth.
They lived stacked in cages and wading through their own waste. Roosters crowed next to starlings. Squirrels huddled beside hedgehogs. Ferrets shared space with flying squirrels, parrots with chinchillas, dogs with tortoises.
And that count didn't include the insects climbing the walls.
The house and the animals belonged to Samantha Boyd, 57, and her partner Neal Weschler, 61.
A veritable army had to be called in to sort out the animals.
The BEAST unit coordinated with the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office, Suffolk County police, Suffolk County Department of Social Services, the Town of Huntington, and a coalition of rescue groups that included Humane Long Island, Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center, Sweetbriar Nature Center, Save the Animals Rescue Foundation, Long Island Rabbit Rescue, Strong Island Animal Rescue, Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons and the Wildlife Center of Long Island.
But as the animal rescue crews worked, they found that the couple's animal cruelty wasn't even the worst part.
Upstairs, the inspectors found an unexpected surprise:
A 95-year-old woman sat trapped on the second floor, hemmed in by mountains of debris.
The woman was not identified, so it's unknown if she was related to one of the couple, if they purposefully imprisoned her, or if she just wandered in off the street and got lost among the animals.
The couple is being charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty and one count of endangering the life of a vulnerable elderly person.
Boyd may also lose her certification with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as a wildlife rehabilitator.
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
