Omie, a shepherd/heeler mix

Couple reunited with missing dog found at infested house
Chris Casey
Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Theresa Honesto started dabbing at the corners of her eyes the moment she walked into the Humane Society of Weld County. She was about to be reunited with a family member. A little furry one. He'd gone missing 41⁄2 months ago. Theresa couldn't imagine that this day, her 27th birthday, could feel any better.

“It's the best birthday present ever,” she said, getting covered in hair from the squirming bundle of glee in her lap.

Theresa Honesto hugs Omie, the family pet, after being reunited with him Tuesday afternoon at the Humane Society of Weld County. Omie, who had been missing for 41⁄2 months, was one of 102 animals seized from a Greeley house on Friday.

The deluxe present was the Lazarus-like return of Omie, a 3-year-old American shepherd-blue heeler mix. Just days ago, Omie was rescued from an animal hellhole.

On Tuesday afternoon, the mostly brown dog bounded and slurped all over his owners, Theresa and Carlos Honesto, in the lobby of the humane society in Evans. It was as joyful a reunion as you'll ever see.

Elaine Hicks, executive director of the shelter, said Omie was the most traumatized of the 10 dogs found at the Greeley home at 403 26th Ave. Court. That was the feces-filled house in which animal control officers on Friday seized 102 animals, including cats, rabbits, rats and guinea pigs.

At the bungalow, the yard is overgrown with weeds and the windows are shuttered. The place smells from the sidewalk. It doesn't take much to imagine the grim interior. Those who've been inside describe a horrific scene: cats, many feral, lined up against the wall, the living room a giant litter box, the kitchen converted into a dog run of sorts. It's where Omie spent much of the last four months, becoming progressively more fearful.

Hicks smiled. “A much different effect,” she said, watching Omie instantly shed his fearfulness.

Theresa and Carlos Honesto, who live just nine blocks west of the animal “hoarders,” checked the humane society after a friend of Theresa's on Monday told her about Friday's seizure. Sure enough, Omie, who wasn't wearing a tag, was there.

“I saw him yesterday and my heart just broke,” Theresa said. “He was at the back of the kennel.”

The couple have a 7-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter who can't wait to see Omie again. Their son named him after a TV cartoon character he likes. Omie ran off a few months ago when the garage door was accidentally left open. Carlos immediately searched for him, but to no avail. A couple of days later, Theresa checked the humane society, but nobody had turned him in.

For weeks, they posted missing-dog signs around the neighborhood. Finally, they gave up.

“I figured he got picked up by someone else who was taking care of him,” Carlos said. “Apparently, that was not the case.”

The hoarders — who remain under investigation — apparently gave Omie sufficient food. But Hicks knows traumatized animals when she sees them.

“He'll be all right,” Carlos said, as he petted Omie, who came to them as a puppy from friends. “We'll take him home and give him a big steak. … We're going to give him a bath. You can smell it.”

During the past few months, the Honestos frequently found themselves talking and thinking about Omie, wondering what had happened to their spirited and friendly pet. They kept a picture of him.

“We thought about getting another one for the longest time, but it didn't feel right,” Carlos said. “It's one thing to have an animal die of natural causes, but to lose something, to lose him ... .” his voice trailed off as he shook his head.

Besides the live animals, 28 dead cats were found in the house.

Theresa said she was “disgusted, so disgusted” to learn of the animal-infested house. “I just couldn't imagine who would do that.”

Carlos said he will take pains not to look at the property, which sits directly on the way to a relative's house.

“I've got a couple words I'd like to tell 'em,” he said.

Hicks said most of the animals taken from the house — all went to the humane society, except the rats and guinea pigs, which went to a Greeley animal hospital — were in decent health. About 20 of the 57 cats were feral, however. All of the animals are being temperament tested and will be put up for adoption. The only hope for the feral cats is if somebody is looking for farm or ranch cats.

Only one kitten was found in the house. Hicks suspects kittens were eaten by the other animals “because you don't have that many cats and not have kittens.”

Carlos didn't share the choice words he has for the hoarders. But he did have a thought on what should happen to Omie's “caretakers.”

“Fifteen minutes with a dog — a rabid dog,” he said.

Source:
http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20090805/NEWS/908049972/1026/NONE&parentprofile=1025