NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A serial Queens hoarder has again been charged with cruelty to animals for allegedly keeping more than 50 animals in unsanitary living conditions, prosecutors said Thursday.
Elizabeth Grant, 53, of Jackson Heights, was arraigned Wednesday on two criminal complaints charging her with failure to provide proper food and drink to impounded animal, criminal contempt and overdriving, torturing and injuring animals/failing to provide sustenance.
According to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, the animals were discovered inside Grant’s home when a New York City Adult Protective Services employee arrived to do a wellness check on Grant’s elderly mother on Nov. 26.
Inside the home, the city employee allegedly observed dogs, cats, turtles, guinea pigs and a rabbit. The home also allegedly smelled of ammonia from urine and there was reportedly excessive feces all over the floor.
DA Katz said the employee noted the animals were allegedly without food or water and their coats appeared to be matted with dirt and feces.
Some discharge was observed in the animals’ noses and eyes, the DA said.
The employee said many of the pets were emaciated and at least one dog had blood stains around its mouth while another was observed to have a rash under its eye, Katz continued.
“Pets are not inanimate toys. They are living, breathing members of our households who, at a bare minimum, deserve to be cared for and kept healthy,” the DA said in a statement. “Instead, this defendant is alleged to have kept her pets in filth with unaddressed diseases and other ailments.”
Grant is banned from owning, harboring or having possession of any animals, as per a court order that remains in effect through April 30, 2028.
According to a New York Daily News report, Grant was found guilty of 16 counts of failure to provide proper food and drink to an impounded animal in 2019, after a pack of malnourished dogs and other animals were found in her home in August 2018.
In April 2018, she was also found guilty of 108 counts of animals cruelty charges and sentenced to three years’ probation, according to the Daily News.
Katz said after the latest incident, NYPD officials, members of the ASPCA and members of Animal Care Centers went to Grant’s home on two occasions, rescuing 60 animals, including 23 cats and eight fish.
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