Seized animals happy, healthy
<p>Kootenai Fairgrounds volunteer Serena Lucas and her husband Tom Lucas, a Kootenai fair foundation board member, feed guinea pigs Friday at the fairgrounds.</p>
<p>Volunteer Bob Wright removes a guinea pig from it’s cage before cleaning the cage Friday at the Kootenai fairgrounds where a hoard animals are being held for the Kootenai Sherif’s Department.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - Volunteers and facility staff members at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds are acting as caretakers for animals that were taken from a home in a recent negligence case which is still being investigated. They will be doing so until the animals can go home.
Where "home" is, and when that will be, is yet to be determined.
"We're happy to take care of them," said Kootenai County Fair General Manager Dane Dugan. "It has been fun to have some animals around the facility other than summer and fair time."
On Jan. 17, 139 animals were transported to the fairgrounds following an anonymous tip the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office received Jan. 14 regarding child and animal neglect. The Press reported in a Jan. 22 article that 83 rabbits, 38 guinea pigs, nine goats, four miniature horses, three chickens, a horse and a "very vocal goose" were seized from a home located on east Pend Orielle Divide Road, with no running water or electricity. The animals were confined in cages and pens with no water.
Of the 139 animals, Lt. Stu Miller said one guinea pig has died from a heart defect and one rabbit has been taken to a veterinarian for an ulcerated eye.
"The rest of the animals are in good health," Miller said. "We're just kind of continuing on. We have a petting zoo."
Dugan said volunteers have been working three shifts a day to ensure the animals are fed, groomed and safe. The fairgrounds has received hundreds of offers and some donations from concerned citizens who want to help, "which is incredible and stands as a perfect example of the generous community we have here," he said.
Tom Lucas of Coeur d'Alene is a fair board member who has been volunteering at the fairgrounds since the '80s. He has been spending up to two hours every day chopping vegetables, freshening water and checking on the animals.
"They all seem to be very happy," Lucas said. "They like greeting us when we come in. They seem to be in pretty good shape."
Miller said charges are pending, so no time frame exists for how long the animals will remain in the fairground facilities. A forfeiture hearing is an option if charges are filed against the responsible parties, whose names have not been released. If that happens, Miller said, the animals may be sent to auction. If Kootenai County prosecutors do not file charges, the animals will be returned.
"It's a taxing thing to care for a lot of animals," Miller said. He estimated feed alone is costing the sheriff's office about $250 per week. Plus, animal control officers have been checking on the animals every day to ensure they are properly heated and watered during the cold winter temperatures.
Bedding materials left over from last year's fair have been supplied by the fairgrounds, but Miller said they are quickly running out of bedding for the animals so they are seeking a wood chipper business that might be able to help with wood shavings or other animal bedding materials.
"These animals are in our care, in our custody," Miller said. "Volunteer staff at the fairgrounds have been doing a really good job taking care of their needs."
Donations of food, bedding, rabbit pellets and other livestock necessities will be accepted through the sheriff's office. Miller encourages people not to donate cash.
Info: 446-1300