72 Animals in Waste-Filled House Seized

Animal control officers seized 72 flea-bitten and malnourished animals Wednesday from an Eagle Rock home, where they had been kept “literally inches deep in excrement,” authorities said.

The owner of the home ran to her car and repeatedly rammed the officers’ truck before driving off, officials said.

The woman, Rebecca Courlie, had refused to answer officers’ questions about the conditions in her house and “became irrational” when they sought entry, said Michael E. Burns, district supervisor for the North-Central Animal Care and Control Center.

An elderly woman, said by police to be Courlie’s 78-year-old mother, was later found in a maggot- and roach-infested upstairs room. She was taken to Glendale Memorial Hospital for a 72-hour psychiatric evaluation, officers said. A hospital spokeswoman refused to comment on the woman’s condition.

An anonymous tip about possible animal abuse led the officers to the house in the 5100 block of Eagle Rock Boulevard, said Dyer Huston, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Department of Animal Regulation. He said officers found 37 dogs, 27 cats and 8 birds inside. Many of the animals were pure-bred.

“The bird cages were loaded with cockroaches, and there were six or seven plastic bags containing animal remains on top of the freezer,” Huston said.

The animals were taken to a city shelter for treatment. Some of the cats and dogs have severe respiratory infections and may have to be destroyed, Burns said.

“It’s probably the most horrible case of cruelty to animals I’ve seen in 20 years,” Burns said, adding that officials will likely press for criminal charges involving cruelty to animals against Courlie. Police said the woman, who has not been located, could also be cited for misdemeanor hit-and-run.

Gil DuBois, a neighbor, said a stench had been coming from the house for two months.