Monroe woman surrenders 47 small animals
A Monroe woman surrendered 47 small animals to the Heartland Humane Society’s shelter in south Corvallis on Thursday after being unable to make her pet breeding business pay, shelter officials said.
Carol Ivie, 52, of Monroe, broke no laws when she started to breed rabbits and guinea pigs for sale, said Brittany Gardner, who is Heartland’s director of operations. Ivie called animal control officers at the Benton County Sheriff’s Office to help her deal with the situation.
“(Ivie) said she was tired of the guinea pig and rabbit breeding business,” said Benton County Capt. Greg Ridler. “She tried doing the home business, but it was not working out.”
Most of the animals arrived in good shape, except for one bunny that was missing some fur, possibly because she had a few fleas.
Heartland officials said they had expected about half of the number that arrived: 33 guinea pigs, 10 rabbits and three bantam roosters.
“It’s a little overwhelming,” Gardner said after examining the missing-fur bunny, which was placed in foster care later that day.
Ivie did not return a phone call Thursday.
Gardner said the shelter already is filled to capacity with cats, dogs and other pets that need good homes.
“To have this many animals on top of it makes it just that much more to deal with,” she said.
Heartland contacted the Oregon Humane Society’s shelter in Portland and already had shipped some of the male rabbits and guinea pigs there. The females — assumed to be pregnant — were to be placed in foster care as soon as possible.
“It keeps us busy; it means there’s more animals to care for. They need to socialize, be loved on,” said Andrea Thornberry, Heartland’s executive director. “With these little guys we can be creative where we put them. We’re certainly looking for foster homes, though.”
Last year, the shelter was featured in the Animal Planet network’s series, “Confessions: Animal Hoarding,” when a large number of small animals — including fish, reptiles and many rodents — were seized and then placed for adoption through the shelter.
Those interested in adoption should contact Heartland at 541-757-9000 or see www.heartlandhumane.org for more information.
Emily Gillespie can be reached at 541-758-9548 or emily.gillespie@gazettetimes.com.
