A Long Island wildlife rehabilitator was arrested after police rescued a 95-year-old woman and more than 200 neglected animals from squalid and hazardous hoarding conditions in her Northport home, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said Thursday.
Samantha Boyd, 57 was charged with multiple counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty and endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person, according to Tierney’s office. Officials said the older woman was allegedly on the second floor in a room confined by debris. Neal Weschler, 61, who is Boyd’s partner, also faces multiple counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty.
Boyd pled not guilty at her arraignment in Suffolk First District Court and was released. She is due back in court on Oct. 16. Boyd did not have a lawyer and could not be reached at her home number on Thursday night.
The house on Fort Salonga Road was full of both wild and domestic animals including cats, dogs, ferrets, squirrels, ducks, chickens, geese, parrots, cockatoos and hedgehogs. In a press release, Tierney’s office described the house as being allegedly filled with insects, spiders and other pests, cluttered wall-to-wall with debris, garbage and household waste.
The response was coordinated by the DA’s Biological, Environmental, and Animal Safety Team (BEAST) unit and several rescue groups. Detectives with the BEAST unit entered the house early Wednesday morning with a search warrant .
“This was a deeply distressing situation, but thanks to the swift action and collaboration between our office and the dedicated rescue partners, these animals are now safe and receiving the care that they urgently need,” Tierney said in a statement. “Animal cruelty and neglect will not be tolerated in our county.”
John Di Leonardo, an anthrozoologist and Executive Director of Humane Long Island, said many of the animals were in small plastic and metal cages without proper food and water, surrounded by debris and waste.
He took several ducks, squirrels, roosters, quails and rabbits. They are being transferred to sanctuaries or wildlife centers after undergoing veterinary care.
“The conditions were filthy,” he told Newsday. “Some of these rabbits had nails longer than anything I had seen in my life and there were urine stains on their feet.”
Di Leonardo said one Pekin duck had such a severe bone infection, it had to be euthanized at the veterinarian. Another duck had two pounds of fluid drained from a stomach infection. It is now in guarded condition.
“That does not happen overnight,” he said of the animals’ neglect. “That could be weeks or months or even years.”
Boyd is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator with the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The DA’s office said it notified the agency about the charges.
Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.
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