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(NewsNation) — A Florida mail carrier is facing animal cruelty charges after authorities said they found dozens of cats and dogs living in filth inside her home.
Deputies executed a search warrant Monday at the home of 77-year-old Gail Giustino, where they discovered at least 70 cats in cages inside the home, according to NewsNation affiliate WFLA. Investigators also found dogs.
Deputies said the smell from the home could be picked up from the street. The house had no air conditioning and up to a foot of animal waste on the floor.
Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek called it “the worst case of animal hoarding” he’d ever seen in the county. The Humane Society of the Treasure Coast said in a post that it’s now caring for 92 animals rescued from the home.
Giustino works for the U.S. Postal Service and had been taking in feral cats she came across on her mail route, according to the sheriff. USPS confirmed she remains employed and said she’ll be offered to enter its Employee Assistance Program.
Animal control visited her residence several times before and issued her roughly 65 civil citations over the years, but said Giustino wouldn’t cooperate, which is what pushed the case to a search warrant.
“We truly believe she was trying to do the right thing by taking in these animals, but she’s going about it the wrong way,” Budensiek said.
He said the goal of arresting Giustino was to seize and save the animals and to get her mental health help.
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