SHELBY, NC (WBTV) – A Shelby woman accused of hoarding and abusing 85 cats and dogs is speaking out to defend herself.
Carolyn Owens tells WBTV she's guilty of having a dirty house, but she says she's not guilty of abusing animals.
Owens was arrested and charged on Wednesday with animal cruelty after animal control officers say she got in "over her head" trying to care for the 85 animals.
Animal control officers went to Owens's home on McBrayer Street Extension around 10:30 a.m. after receiving an anonymous tip about the animals.
Officers say they observed the 61-year-old did not have enough food and water to care for that many dogs and cats, and that the animals had really bad living conditions.
Owens says those things weren't true.
"My animals were not neglected, they were not abused," Owens told WBTV. "My floors were nasty, and I admit I'm guilty of that. But I'm not guilty of animal cruelty, and I never will be."
Based on their observations, officers seized the animals, said Cleveland County Animal Control Director Tripp Bowling.
All of the cats and dogs are being kept at the Cleveland County Animal Shelter until the county and the Humane Society can find new homes for them, Bowling said.
Owens was released from jail after posting bond.
Owens said she didn't realize she had so many animals living on her property.
She says everything started when she took in 10 abused dogs. From there, she would agree to take in more dogs, and she started taking in feral cats as well.
"I couldn't give them away," Owens said of her efforts to adopt out the animals. "So I just kept feeding them and doing the best I could."
Owens said she had so many animals in the house that it reached a point where she didn't stay there anymore. She'd spend most nights with relatives instead.
Some neighbors complained of a stench coming from the home.
Next-door neighbor Angela Seal says having the animals taken away was a good thing for Carolyn.
"I love her to death," Seal said. "She just didn't need that many dogs."
"She can get her life back and she can get her home back, and I hope she doesn't do it again."
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