ELWOOD, Indiana — What officers found inside a South H Street home last June was hard to describe — and even harder to breathe through.
The smell hit them before they even stepped inside. Urine. Ammonia. One officer had to borrow a medical mask from EMS just to keep talking to residents. Firefighters said the odor was so severe they could not breathe comfortably inside the home.
This was not just a messy house. It was something far worse.
What officers found inside
When building commissioner Lisa Hobbs joined police in inspecting the home, they found three kittens crammed into a small dog kennel. The litter box had not been cleaned in what appeared to be weeks. Cat food was scattered loose across the bottom of the cage.
Every inch of the floor was covered — trash, old food, animal feces, dirt.
The rest of the home was no better. Human and animal waste was found throughout. In one bedroom alone, officers found approximately 43 animals — cats, dogs, quail, and rabbits — along with around 100 quail eggs.
Beneath a pile of live rabbits, police found a dead one still inside its cage.
The home was condemned by the Madison County Health Department.
The woman behind the animals
Family members, including a male resident of the home, told police that every animal had been brought there by Jewleonna Ours. He said he had pushed back, but a family member consistently sided with her.
When Ours arrived home and saw officers on scene, she tried to walk away. When told she was not free to leave, she became argumentative.
An arrest warrant was issued August 7 for Ours on one felony charge — failure to properly dispose of a dead animal — along with five counts of animal cruelty and two counts of criminal recklessness. She has not yet been taken into custody.
The animals have since been placed with local shelters and a nearby resident. One cat could not be caught and remains unaccounted for.
Have you seen anything like this in your neighborhood? Share your thoughts in the comments.