Investigators with the Doña Ana County Sheriff Department have filed 71 charges against a man accused of hoarding more than two dozen dogs and 13 birds on his property off Fairacres Road.
Complaints from neighbors about excessive noise and a foul odor prompted an investigation by the department’s Animal Cruelty Task Force, which found 25 dogs and as many as 100 chickens and ducks at the home of Jack Catlan, 60.
Catlan was arrested and charged Thursday.
According to court documents, Catlan faces two counts of extreme cruelty to animals, 33 counts of animal cruelty, 17 counts of failure to provide proof of rabies vaccination, 17 counts of having an intact animal without a permit, one count of failure to obtain a multiple-animal permit and one count of failure to obtain a litter permit.
Doña Ana County ordinances forbid property owners from having more than six animals on their property without a permit, and fowl cannot be kept in the front yard.
After obtaining a search warrant, investigators who assessed Catlan’s animals on April 24, 2012 found poultry housed in cramped cinder-block pens in the backyard. A broken sewer line was also discovered during the investigation, easily accessible to the poultry that were allowed to wander on the property.
Catlan received a citation earlier this year from the Doña Ana County Fire and Emergency Services Department after neighbors complained he was burning newspapers outside his home that dogs had urinated and defecated on.
During the investigation, 25 poodle-mix dogs and 13 fowl were taken into evidence from Catlan’s property. All are being cared for by the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department’s veterinarian and are receiving medical treatment for various diseases and illnesses.