Woman, son allowed to keep fewer animals
Ten months ago, animal control officers hauled 61 dogs, cats, rabbits and turtles off Carol McMullen’s property.
Officers found rabbits without food or water. The property at 6204 N. Idaho Road had 11 dogs and 17 cats inside a mobile home. The animals and the McMullens were living among feces and flies, according to court documents.
Carol McMullen, 63, was recently convicted of 13 misdemeanors, including five counts of animal cruelty, because of the unsanitary conditions and lack of food that animal control officers found during the Feb. 3 raid. Last week, her son James McMullen, 22, pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of confining animals in an unsafe manner and another count of having an illegal kennel related to the incident.
On Monday, a judge decided the McMullens, who no longer live together, should be allowed to keep some of their animals, but not as many as they had in the past. James McMullen can keep 10 animals, and his mother eight, Spokane County District Court Judge Sara Durr decided at their separate sentencing hearings Monday morning. Both McMullens were put on probation for two years.
At her sentencing, Carol McMullen admitted she had too many dogs and couldn’t prevent her son from buying rabbits. There were 60-plus rabbits living in small cages, according to court documents.
“I realize my neighbors are mad because the place is a mess, but it’s not my mess,” McMullen told Durr.
Durr acknowledged James McMullen shares blame. Yet Carol McMullen was the property owner and she knew what was happening, Durr said.
“His animals were suffering on your property,” Durr told Carol McMullen.
During their probation, Spokane County Regional Animal Care and Protection Service officers can make unannounced visits to check on the animals, Durr decided. The McMullens will also have to pay restitution and Carol McMullen will have to spend time volunteering at the SCRAPS shelter.
SCRAPS Director Nancy Hill said her officers will check in on both mother and son.
County residents can have four dogs or cats in any combination. Typically, a person can also have rabbits, chickens and other animals, if zoning allows it. Durr said she doesn’t care what combination of animals the two choose, but that it can’t go above the limit she imposed.
Hill said she felt the animal limit was important because the February raid showed the two cannot properly care for a large number of animals.
“The situation we discovered out there was serious enough that we will be very closely monitoring both Carol and James McMullen to make sure they stay in compliance,” Hill said.