In the heart of Montreal’s east end, a woman stands accused of the unofficial breeding of cats and dogs within the confines of her apartment, amid conditions truly unfit for animal habitation. Both animal rights advocates and the accused’s landlord join together in condemnation of the treatment inflicted upon these animals.
The story began to unraveled when a neighbour, whose identity is withheld, living adjacent to the Lepailleur Street apartment near the Louis-Hyppolyte-La Fontaine tunnel, became concerned over the inexplicably high volume of pets frequenting the premises. His unease led to vocalized distress, triggering the alarm about deplorable living conditions for the animals.
The building’s management began to piece together a puzzle of sad animal mistreatment. Giancarlo Carangelo, an agent part of the management group, explained, “With the clarity of hindsight, it is now apparent that it was more than a case of a particular pet owner. Something foul was brewing.”
Breeding and selling animals is, for good reason, prohibited by law in Montreal. The grim reality was exposed more fully when cat rescue operatives stumbled upon the tenant’s illicit activity. Their sleuthing painted a grim portrait of her breeding and selling young pit bulls and Bengal cats.
One anonymous rescuer explained, “Through Facebook, we uncovered that she regularly posted about multiple litters. Evidently, she was capitalizing on the high value of these animals.”
Susan Mackasey, founder of PetitsPawz Cat Refuge, disclosed their discovery of her active and illegal breeding operation via her social media accounts, both Facebook and Instagram. Their intervention led to the rescue of an abandoned Bengal cat suffering from neglect-induced skin infection.
The occupants of the breeding ground apartment, comprising two adults and four children, vacated the premises on July 1. When the building’s manager entered the property several days later, the shocking sight of property in absolute disarray met his eyes.
He painted a grim picture of the scene: “As soon as we pushed open the door, we were greeted with the overwhelmingly pungent stench of animal excrement. It only got worse as we moved deeper into the property.”
The unfortunate aftermath left a massive clean-up bill of over $3,000, eating through almost a full week. Carangelo voices his doubt at the prospect of recovering these costs.
An attempt was made to secure an interview with the former tenant; however, the individual remains elusive and unresponsive.
