"They have such minimal resources available to them," Jones says of rescuers. "Most have full-time jobs and do this as a part-time activity. Their life is already consumed by this. To encumber them with additional responsibilities and processes that would slow down the placement ... that concerns me."
Still, everyone involved admits that hoarding remains a legitimate concern, and Muñoz says he'd rather people "call and be wrong" than miss a potentially bad situation. Jones, who's managed shelters in three cities, says it's something she primarily sees with newer, smaller rescues.
JENNIFER BOOMER
JENNIFER BOOMER
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"Sometimes it's an embarrassing situation and they get afraid to ask for help," she says. "That results in a tragedy not just for them and their care, but for the community. It sheds a bad light on rescuers, who provide such a valuable service."
Jones adds the risk of a bad rescuer is really a rare and manageable one. "The best way to try and stay on top of this is through the vetting process," she says, "finding people who are well-established and understand resources they need to have in place to do this type of work." Monitoring those people to make sure they're actually sending out roughly the number of animals they receive is also key. "If you're putting out 20 animals a month to a rescue group and they're not adopting out 20 and they just keep taking, that would be an indicator that there may be a problem."
As for neighbor disputes, Jones says they're regrettably common.
"We all want to get along. We all want to enjoy our home. When that becomes frustrating for a citizen, whether it's yourself or your neighbor, nobody wants to see that. We all want to have quality of life, for neighbors and for the animals."
After Steel refused to apologize at her first sentencing hearing — she even suggested that prison might be better than parole — there was a moment in which the judge and attorneys didn't seem to know quite what to do. Court was adjourned rather abruptly, with the judge referencing some "evaluations" he'd need to see before he could reach a sentence. What he wanted to see, it turned out, were the results of Steel's court-ordered psychiatric evaluation.
The actual sentencing finally happens nearly a month later, just before Christmas. Steel's cousin and her friend Becky join her in the hallway of the courthouse. When all this is over, Becky says, she wants to help Steel move away to New Mexico, where they can start a dog crematorium together.
"We'll go, and y'all can keep Dallas to your damn selves," she says darkly to Clifford Duke, Steel's public defender, who none of them seem to like. Duke smiles weakly and excuses himself.
When he returns, he gives Steel a copy of the psych evaluation to read and sign; she pages through it with disbelief. According to the evaluation, Steel suffers from "maladaptive personality disorder" and treats her dogs like children, putting them above everything else. It also says she suffers from "inflexibility, rigidity and stubbornness" and "refuses to let control go."
Steel starts to cry.
"I've done anything and everything they've asked me to do," she says. "How is that stubborn?"
"They're gettin' these things right out of a book," Becky says with disgust. "That's a lot of conclusions to draw."
Steel finally, reluctantly, hands the document back to the lawyer, after conceding it has no "factual inaccuracies." Subdued, she and her friends file quietly into the courtroom and watch as a woman in a green-striped prison uniform and a messy ponytail gets sentenced to 30 days for theft. Steel is up next.
"This isn't an easy case to deal with," Duke tells the judge. "Ms. Steel isn't a criminal in her nature. But this long-standing, ongoing dispute between neighbors culminated in a bad decision." The prosecutor asks she "comply with all city codes and city ordinances."
The judge looks Steel over.
"This is a real tough case," he tells her. "I know you're not a criminal. But what you did do ... I don't really have much choice. I'm very sympathetic. But I can't imagine what it'd be like to live next door to 16 dogs. You have a right to do what you can to help animals, but your neighbor has a right to peace and quiet in his own home. It's just not an appropriate setting for that many dogs."
"You have to look at the entire picture," Steel protests. She starts talking about the cruelty officers' many visits. "My other neighbors have never once called," she tells the judge. He holds up his hand.
"You're repeating your testimony a little bit," he tells her, not unkindly.
After a moment, Mitchell sentences her to two years probation, no fines. It's not immediately clear whether she'll be required to get rid of her dogs. Two weeks after her sentencing, Ehrenfeld will show up at her house and tell her that she has to get rid of all but six.
"You've got a tough situation out there," the judge says to her before moving on to his next case. "But you're gonna have to find some way to deal with it."
