ROCK HILL, S.C.,None — Complaints about 150 cats living inside a Rock Hill animal rescue have forced it to shut down.
The St. Francis Animal Rescue on East Main Street in Rock Hill has been taking in cats for four years. This single-story brick ranch house is now overrun with cats, and the Humane Society is stepping in.
"It's gone from a shelter to a hoarding situation," said York County Humane Society Director Vickie Frain. "The animals aren't being adopted out, and they aren't living in a good place."
A year ago, Magistrate Judge Robert Davenport toured the shelter after complaints about the large number of animals reached York County Animal Control. Davenport gave the shelter several months to fix specific issues and clean up.
"The air conditioning wasn't working, and the ventilation was poor," he told Channel 9 Monday.
Animal Control watched the progress, and inspected the place on several occasions over the next few months, said Director Steve Suber.
"We gave them latitude and freedom to correct any issues that we saw," Suber said. “I don't feel like that's taken place."
On Monday morning, St. Francis Rescue Director Charlene Rodriguez was supposed to appear in court on the issue. She was ill so the case was continued, but her attorney told the judge that the shelter would close in 30 days.
Channel 9 caught up with Rodriguez, who said she's not an animal hoarder.
"Our purpose is to find these cats homes," she said. "If someone comes in and they'd be a good pet owner, they'll leave here with a cat."
Rodriguez said it has been a very slow year for adoptions. Channel 9 also asked her about the conditions inside the house.
Not only are there 150 cats, but more than 50 litter boxes. The ammonia smell was horrible inside, and it was difficult to breathe. On Sunday night, the Humane Society removed several sick cats that suffered from eye and mouth diseases.
Rodriguez said she and her volunteers take good care of the animals. She objected to statements that they were living in poor conditions.
"They're not in squalor, they're not being frightened. They're fine," she said. "We come and clean, we do litter boxes, we feed them. They always have dry food and water."
The shelter has had other past problems too. It has been vandalized several times. Doors and windows have been broken, allowing the cats to escape into the streets. Several have been lost.
Rodriguez admitted she had too many animals for the size building they were in, but she could bear to see an animal starve or die.
"If there's a cat outside, in the winter and it has no food or water, I'm going to take it in, of course," she said.
She plans to build a shelter on property outside of Rock Hill, and told Channel 9 that one building is already in place.
So far, about 40 cats have been taken from the shelter. Frain was concerned about leaving the remaining cats there even one more night.
"I'm trying not to cry. I took about 20, and it was very hard to walk away and leave the rest," she said.
The court case was continued until March 19. At that time, Davenport said he'll review where things stand as far as the health of the animals, and make sure the current shelter has closed its doors.
At this time no one faces any criminal charges. St. Francis Animal Rescue is still adopting out animals. The rescue can be found online.
WSOC
